Marc Fucarile can't stop moving these days. That's considerable progress considering he was "blown up and on fire" last Patriots' Day and lost his right leg following the second blast near the Boston Marathon finish line.
"I've been doing a lot, doing too much. It's really hurting," he told The OBF Blog Thursday night. Furcarile was the final bombing survivor released from the hospital, leaving on July 24. He initially spent 45 nights at Massachusetts General Hospital and 55 at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center. He's had "20-25" surgeries and about 55 other outpatient procedures. He had surgery to aid in the fitting of his first prosthetic leg in October, but that ultimately proved futile. A second prosthetic leg was fitted in February and after some swelling seems to be finally working.
"I'm still in a wheelchair about 75 percent of the time," he said. "I don’t take pain medication. I don't like that stuff around the house. I don’t like the way it makes me feel." The pain, he said, "100 percent" reminds him that he's still alive.
Get The Duck Boats Ready
For instance, his itinerary Thursday included: taking his son, Gavin, to school, a trip to Dunkin' Donuts, about 90 minutes of physical rehab, a stop by his office, a visit to cheer up a friend recently diagnosed with colon cancer, a stop to help honor Wounded Warriors at the Irish-American Club in Malden, a trip back home to his Reading apartment to change, shower and shave, a ride from his Reading home to Fenway Park and a couple of hours with an ESPN film crew, dinner at Jerry Remy's [neither ESPN nor the Red Sox picked up the tab] and then back home to put Gavin, 6, to bed, chat on the phone and then, watch the Red Sox until he would eventually head off to bed.
"I've been doing a lot, doing too much. It's really hurting," he told The OBF Blog Thursday night. Furcarile was the final bombing survivor released from the hospital, leaving on July 24. He initially spent 45 nights at Massachusetts General Hospital and 55 at Spaulding Rehabilitation Center. He's had "20-25" surgeries and about 55 other outpatient procedures. He had surgery to aid in the fitting of his first prosthetic leg in October, but that ultimately proved futile. A second prosthetic leg was fitted in February and after some swelling seems to be finally working.
"I'm still in a wheelchair about 75 percent of the time," he said. "I don’t take pain medication. I don't like that stuff around the house. I don’t like the way it makes me feel." The pain, he said, "100 percent" reminds him that he's still alive.
Get The Duck Boats Ready
For instance, his itinerary Thursday included: taking his son, Gavin, to school, a trip to Dunkin' Donuts, about 90 minutes of physical rehab, a stop by his office, a visit to cheer up a friend recently diagnosed with colon cancer, a stop to help honor Wounded Warriors at the Irish-American Club in Malden, a trip back home to his Reading apartment to change, shower and shave, a ride from his Reading home to Fenway Park and a couple of hours with an ESPN film crew, dinner at Jerry Remy's [neither ESPN nor the Red Sox picked up the tab] and then back home to put Gavin, 6, to bed, chat on the phone and then, watch the Red Sox until he would eventually head off to bed.
Thursday's hectic schedule is only a prelude to the next 10 days for Fucarile, which will be highlighted by his wedding to seven-year fiancee Jennifer Regan inside the EMC Club at Fenway Park at 4 p.m. Thursday following a Duck Boat ride from the Hotel Commonwealth.
Among the other items on his schedule: the one-year Marathon anniversary ceremony at the Hynes Convention Center Tuesday with other survivors of the bombings and victim families; the BAA 5K race on Sat., April 19, a special pre-game ceremony at Fenway Park on Sunday, April 20 [no word on if he'll part of the group throwing out the first pitch]; and, finally, a trip to the Marathon finish line on April 21 to be there in support of the hundreds of family and friends that are running in his honor.
"I don’t want to be part of any of that near the finish line, but people are taking their time to run in honor of me, I just want to be part of this for them and be there when they cross the line. If they were not running, I wouldn't be there. No chance. My friends, my family, the people from Spaulding and MGH, they're sacrificing their time and energy – we’re honored to have them running it."
ESPN will air an "E:60 Presents Dream On: Stories from Boston’s Strongest" special featuring Fucarile on Tuesday. During the show you'll likely see Jen and Gavin run the bases at Fenway Park while Fucarile stands [no wheelchair at least on camera] at home plate and watches them with a smile. While millions will watch his real life 'comeback story' story on this Disney-owned network, his real-life dream wedding [you can check out their registry here] will be held in front of only 150 people due to the EMC Club's capacity.
"We had to cut down from 300 people. I’ve got a lot of people who are pissed. When I get off the phone with you, I have to call some of them," he said. Fucarile proposed to Regan seven years ago but "she couldn't commit to a date."
"You know how it is. Excuse after excuse: 'I’m not marrying you until you finish school, not going to plan a wedding with a newborn baby, etc,'" he said within earshot of Regan. "We started planning in February of 2013 but then I got blown up." Plans for the wedding resumed last summer. Through "Love Runs Through Boston", they won an all-expenses paid wedding for 75 valued at $65,000, but were allowed to expand the guest list to 150. "We were going to get married on an island, a beach or Fenway Park. Once we found out it was [the reception] would be at the Hotel Commonwealth, I told Jen 'we're getting married at Fenway Park somehow.'"
Justice Elizabeth Gemelli will perform the ceremony.
It will undoubtedly be his best moment since last Patriots' Day.
"Watching Jen walk down that aisle, that will be the highlight," he said. "To be here and be lucky for what I have. Just meeting so many people and seeing the amount of amazing people out there, and their generosity, has been so inspirational. The support is what keeps me going, strangers, friends, family. If it weren't for them, the support of complete strangers and loved ones, this would be a different story. I’d be mad, angry and a lot more pissed off."
Fucarile, whose story has been shared on the OBF Blog here and here in the past, admits feeling a sense of obligation to not quit on himself because of everyone who has offered their support. "I don’t want to let my family down, my son, fiancee, my parents, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles. I also don't want to let my new family down."
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