(Elise Amendola/AP)
There was an extraordinary moment Saturday night when Boston bombing victim Jeff Bauman served as banner captain for the Boston Bruins.
“Now THIS picture should be plastered all over the media,” said one post on the 27-year-old’s Facebook page. “They put up enough photos of poor Jeff in a time of distress, show him in his glory.”
Awesome. #StanleyNumber7 RT @babsphoto: Photographed Jeff Bauman getting the #Bruins crowd pumped up! #bostonstrong twitter.com/babsphoto/stat…
— NESN Nation (@NESNNation) May 4, 2013
Unreal tribute to Jeff Bauman double amputee after the surreal events of the Boston marathon Guy still has a smile ear to ear Be good people
— Andrew J. Bathgate (@A_Bathgate) May 4, 2013
Bauman’s lower limbs were blown apart when bombs went off near the finish of the Boston Marathon where he had been waiting for his girlfriend to finish.
“I want to thank everyone for their amazing support for me and all those injured and their families,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “I’m making great progress and I thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers.”
He asked for privacy as he recovers. “I want to thank the Bruins players and organization for the generosity and support for all those impacted. Like all those in Black and Gold I can’t wait to see them on another quest for the cup. Go Bruins!”
In a now iconic photograph from marathon day, Bauman is shown holding what is left of his legs, while rescuers speed him to emergency help. The story of Carlos Arrendondo — the hero in the cowboy hat — is now well known:
Carlos Arredondo rushes to the aid of bombing victim Jeff Bauman Jr. (Charles Krupa/AP)
Arredondo recently visited Bauman — a photo that was posted on his Facebook page:
The Wall Street Journal reports that Arredondo and Bauman exchange texts daily. “I hope we can help other people,” Arredondo said. “I hope that Jeff turns his tragedy into a positive.”
