Survivor's Journey: From Trauma to Hope

0:00It's April 14th. You're listening to Tampa Bay News today, AI-powered local news. I'm Corey with the story. 13 years after surviving the Boston Marathon bombing, Rebecca Gregory has turned her pain into purpose. She endured 76 surgeries after the blast shredded her legs near the finish line, but she and her five-year-old son Noah made it out alive. Now she runs Rebecca's Angels, a non-profit offering free trauma therapy, financial grants and community supports of families hit by crisis. Gregory focuses on emotional healing too, knowing Noah carried invisible scars from that day. He hid from the world, scared to even ride his bike. She honors the runners and first responders who saved her by channeling their heroism into help for others, funding therapy without taking a dime for, herself or her husband. Take 18-year-old Alexis Gould, who crashed her car at over 75 miles per hour while intoxicated, using both legs in the wreckage. Nurses connected her with Gregory during a hospital stay, and Rebecca's Angels covered

1:03her bills and therapy. Gould says without that support, she might not be here, and now the two share a deep bond of resilience. The group keeps growing, with their hope van cruising communities, plastered with messages like, keep going. Every year, Gregory returns to the bombing side with her family to show her kids evil didn't win. On April 20th, Rebecca's Angels steps up big as the official charity for the Boston Marathon, with 12 runners raising funds at the finish. Line where it all changed.