It was only a year ago that the world was rocked by news of the horrendous bombing at the Boston Marathon. So many tragedies came out of that event but so many stories of heroism and personal resolve came from it too. This year, a new, unrelated but equally powerful story of love, support and triumph comes out of the first race since the blast devastated do many lives.

Jessie Russell, 26, had a lifelong dream of running the full 26.2-mile Boston Marathon would be the year she would give it her all. The only obstacle could come from the lupus she had been coping with since her diagnosis during her junior year of high school. Sunlight aggravates the symptoms of lupus which can include joint pain, fatigue and skin rashes.

Her supportive brother, Jeffrey, went on her journey with her. He followed her route and snapped photos of her successes along the way. He was her biggest cheerleader. Jessie was doing great until about the 14th mile. That’s when the sun’s UV rays got the better of her. She spotted a medical tent up ahead and was considering throwing in the towel. That’s when her brother sprang into action.

He spotted a toy store nearby and dashed off to find something that would help Jessie finish the race. The object her returned with was a child-sized umbrella, blue and adorned with sharks. He said they symbolized her tenacity.

Jeffrey told his sister that if she truly believed the sun was the only thing keeping her from finishing the race and seeing her dream through, then he would be her medical tent, her water station.
Jessie’s sibling accompanied her on the remaining 12 miles, giving her the shade and the support she needed to cross the finish line and show the world what it really means to be #BostonStrong.

Jessie later told CBS News she could not have made it to the finish line without Jeffrey. “I just love him,” she said.

In last year’s horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon, Adrianne Haslet-Davis was among the injured. The pretty young woman had been a professional dancer up until that fateful moment when a pressure cooker bomb exploded and caused her the loss of part of her left leg.

This past Wednesday, Haslet-Davis returned to the stage as she danced in public for the first time since her life-altering injury. She performed with her partner, Christian Lightner at the 2014 TED Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The 33 year old dancer is from Boston. She showed off her new prosthetic leg in a short, white, sparkling dress. The high-tech leg supported her beautifully as she twirled with her partner to a shortened version of Enrique Iglesias’s “ring My Bells.”

She released a statement following her return performance in which she expressed her delight at being able to dance again. She had always known, following the bombing, that she would find a way to return to what she loved, that she had to do it.

The dancer and her husband, Air Force Maj. Adam Davis, were among the 260 people who were injured in the explosions that took place at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013.

Hugh Herr, the director of biomechatronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, began working on a design for a bionic leg that could be used for dancing soon after visiting Haslet-Davis in the hospital. His own status as a double-amputee gave him the empathy to want to help this courageous young woman return to what she loved doing.

Herr, who lost his legs in a climbing accident in 1982, designed his own legs that he now uses to climb today. He spent long hours studying dance so he could design a prosthetic that would hold up to the demands.
Next up for Haslet-Davis is an appearance on television’s dance competition show, “Dancing with the Stars.”