Boston Bombing Survivor Adrianne Haslet-Davis: ‘We Grew in the Face of Adversity’
"One year ago, my husband, Major Adam Davis, had just returned from Afghanistan where he was fighting the war on terror uninjured. We talk a long walk into sunny Boston and in a matter of seconds, our world was changed forever. It is difficult to believe that it has only been one year. It feels like only a few weeks and we have a long road yet to walk. I stand here today as a proud Bostonian, although Adam and I just moved to Boston three short years ago. The city has stood by us and supported us and helped us heal. Together we held each other in the face of terror, we grieved in the face of tremendous loss, and we grew in the face of adversity. Our survivor community is not something any of us have chosen to be a part of. Yet we are just that, a community. There were many moments we could have not made it through had it not been for one another. We find peace in finding a shoulder to cry on, a warm embrace, and hand to hold in the crowd. We know just by eye contact what the other is feeling. I am thankful for our friendships. And as I look back on this past year, I think of the lessons that we have learned and have had to relearn -- that no milestone is too small to celebrate, even walking into a non-handicapped bathroom stalling for first time doing a happy dance. It's the little things. I also learned that moods are contagious, our community, our city, our first responders, our surgeons, and physical and mental therapists would not and will not let us fail. And their unwavering demotion to strength is why we stand here Boston strong today. I have also earned it is OK to not be OK, that we still have to let ourselves grieve. We can stay in bed even for a few days. Yet it is that Boston strong attitude that gets us back out. And when we cannot find the strength to do it ourselves, we have those around us that lift us back up. My wish if I were allowed to grant one, is that we use this day, not as just a day of remembrance but a day of action. I wish that everyone who is facing adversity today would have the support that we have had. If anyone is wondering what they can do, what you can do, I would answer, look around. People in your community need your support. They need your patience and they need your time in dealing with similar situations such as ours. Let April 15th be a day when we all work together to make this world a better place. The biggest lesson of all of the lessons that I have learned over this past year is that something in your life -- in anyone's life -- can go horrifically terribly wrong in a matter of seconds. Yet it is up to us to make every single second count after because believe me, they do. Thank you."
