Boston Bombing Victim Jeff Bauman Walks Again

Jeff Bauman, whose legs were both blown off by the force of the Boston Marathon bombings, recently took his first steps since the attack. 

Bauman, whose family hails from Oaklyn, received new prosthetic legs and is learning how to navigate on them, almost three months after his were amputated above the knee after the marathon attacks. 

In an extensive New York Times piece, Bauman talks about how his goals have changed drastically since April 15.

"I want to walk and be normal again. I want to wear pants, shoes," Bauman says. "I want to stand up, be tall—I just want to be normal." 

The sheer carnage of the Boston Marathon bombings was captured in an iconic photograph of Bauman, his lower leg bones exposed and his face ashen, with peace activist Carlos Arredondo pinching Bauman's artery and likely saving his life as the injured man was rushed from the marathon finish line. 

Arredondo and Bauman have since forged a friendship, and reunited in public in an emotional moment at Fenway Park when both threw out a first pitch at a Red Sox game. Bauman is especially beloved in Boston, as he helped identify the men accused of orchestrating the bombings.

Since the attacks, Bauman has received numerous gifts and support from charities, including the Wiggle Your Toes Foundation, which helped cover the cost of his $200,000 prostheses. His fellow native New Jerseyans also supported Bauman—relatives held a May fundraiser in Egg Harbor in addition to several online fundraisers to help with Bauman's care and expenses. 

Meanwhile, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving man accused of the bombings and of carrying out a multiday spree of violence that killed four people and held Greater Boston hostage, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to 30 charges against him.