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Boston amputee Adrianne Haslet recuperating slowly after Jan. 5 incident

Haslet's plans to run this year's Boston Marathon on the back burner as she heals from injuries to her arm and shoulder

Adrianne Haslet, the ballroom dancer who lost her left leg in the Boston bombing in 2013, is keeping her many Instagram followers up-to-date with her progress in recovering from being struck by a car on January 5. Haslet describes a rollercoaster of progress and setbacks both physical and emotional as she heals from this devastating trauma.

RELATED: Boston bombing amputee struck by car

Haslet on Christmas Day 2018, 10 days before the incident. Photo: Adrianne Haslet/Instagram

Haslet required surgery to repair her left arm, which was crushed by her prosthetic leg after it became detached and flew into the air in the incident, which occurred at a crosswalk on Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue. The driver of the vehicle that struck her remained on the scene and was charged with failing to stop for a pedestrian in a legal crosswalk.

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Haslet has become a passionate runner and activist in the years since the bombings, returning to run the Boston Marathon in 2016, and joining the Heartbreak Hill Run Company in early 2018. She recently founded the Adrianne Strong Foundation, with the goal of providing below-the-knee amputees with prostheses so they can learn to run, as she did. Haslet had been running regularly in Boston during the holidays, before the incident.

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Haslet’s coach, Dan Fitzgerald, told local media her injuries have likely scuppered her plans to run Boston this year. Haslet was moved into Boston’s Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital for in-patient rehab on Saturday. Yesterday evening she posted an encouraging video of herself walking on a treadmill, wearing her prosthesis, her left arm in a sling, followed by a more sombre post describing her pain and discouragement. 

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“I walked on the treadmill yesterday, and it was beautiful. Yet right after, I am reminded how far I still have to go. I only have one arm in use. This means a nurse comes in and pulls my pants down and up when I have to pee. I can’t open a jar of peanut butter. A bottle of water. I can’t take a shower alone because I can’t reach everything. I can’t put my hair up or down. I still cry out of anger, shock, pain, and frustration.”

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“It’s not all awful, and it’s not all good. It’s recovery. It’s the stages of grieving that we all go through no matter the adversity. I guess I just thought I was done with trauma this deep.”

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“This comeback will be one for the books, but right now, damn it hurts. Being surrounded by love is the best place to be. Your thoughts, love, and messages in this community are so appreciated.” 

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