Boston Marathon bombing

How the Marathon Bombings Put a New Hospital to the Ultimate Test

"There were so many aspects that even we didn't know as therapists"

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After the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon finish line nearly 10 years ago, a different kind of race began as medical professionals aided those injured.

The doors to the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital weren't open yet when the Boston Marathon bombings occurred.

Spaulding was in the process of moving into a new location in Charlestown, and it would be another 12 days after the attack before staff and patients would be working in the state-of the art facility. Those first few weeks represented a steep learning curve for everyone at the hospital, while also reinforcing how critical top-notch care is for Boston and beyond.

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"It was the first time that I had to work with a mother and daughter at the same time, two brothers at the same time and a husband and wife at the same time," said Dr. David Crandell, with the medical director of the amputee program.

He and longtime physical therapist Urvashi Chogle shared what it was like during that time and what Spaulding has learned in the 10 years since.

"There were so many aspects that even we didn't know as therapists, like, you know, just understanding that some of them may have hearing issues or hearing loss because of the trauma," Chogle said.

Watch the interviews in the video atop this story.

Bombing Marathon Bombing survivor Heather Abbott turned her trauma into inspiration with the Heather Abbott Foundation, which raises money to help amputees with the cost of prosthetics “When I lost my leg, some of the questions I had when I was sitting in the hospital bed, were things like, ‘what kind of shoes am I going to be able to wear? What kind of clothes will I wear?’ They were kind of silly questions to ask at the time, but they were a big deal to me,” Abbott said.
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