The ambulances were already full as Marc Fucarile and
Roseann Sdoia lay on the ground — gravely injured from the Boston Marathon
bombings.
Boston cop James Davis recalled the blood loss, their pained
faces and Marc’s pleas for help. “Please don’t let me die,” he said, the
officer recalled. “I want to see my son.”
Davis and many other courageous first responders saved
countless lives that day — and their heroism didn’t stop there.
Boston cops, firefighters and EMTs have created a fund for
the victims of the bombings. Yesterday, they came to Spaulding Rehabilitation
Hospital in Charlestown — where many of the survivors have been treated — to announce
$230,000 in donations.
Roseann lost her right leg above the knee and walks with a
prosthetic limb. She’s trying to run again. There are more good days now than
bad.
Marc lost his right leg and is fighting for his left. He
uses a wheelchair and drew applause yesterday when he stood up to speak.
It’s a long way from April 15. And they’re both grateful for
the first responders who saved their lives.
Roseann thought she was going to die on Boylston Street. She
heard the ambulances coming — and then going. Officer Shana Cottone kept her
calm.
“You knew inside that we were losing them,” Davis recalled
of the agonizing wait for an ambulance. “Nobody could figure out what to do.”
Davis had a patrol wagon sitting on the other side of the
fire engines and sprung into action. “Put them in here,” Davis told rescue
workers, who loaded Roseann and Marc — both strapped to back boards — into the
vehicle.
Davis jumped behind the wheel and sped to Massachusetts
General Hospital. Cottone sat beside him, yelling at people to get out of the
way.
Firefighter Mike Materia carried Roseann into the wagon.
“I held her hand in one hand and her tourniquet in the other
hand,” Materia said of the hospital ride. Roseann asked him if she was going to
die. Materia wanted to keep her calm so he said, “No, just a flesh wound.”
In the wagon, Marc said he didn’t want to die. He had a
5-year-old boy and a fiancee.
He doesn’t know how he would have survived without the
support of people from across the country — from the first responders to nurses
to those who donate. “There’s so much good in the world,” Marc said, “it’s
crazy.”
All riding in that wagon that day have formed friendships —
whether it’s going to dinner, visits at Spaulding, events, phone calls or
texts. “They’ll be in my life forever,” Cottone said. “Without a doubt.”
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