Jeff Bauman

Jeff Bauman
Bauman (right) and Jake Gyllenhaal
at Fenway Park in 2016
Born (1986-01-02) January 2, 1986
Occupation Author
Spouse(s) Erin Hurley (20142017)
Children 1

Jeff Bauman (born January 2, 1986) is an American author. He lost his legs during the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing attack and was the subject of a famous photograph taken in the aftermath of the bombing. The 2017 film Stronger is based on a memoir of the same name he co-wrote, with Jake Gyllenhaal portraying him.[1][2]

Personal life

Bauman was born on January 2, 1986 and is the son of Patty and Jeff Bauman Sr. Bauman became engaged to his fiancée Erin Hurley in February 2014 and they married in November 2014. Their first daughter, Nora Gail Bauman, was born in July 2014. They announced that they were divorcing in April  2017, though the two remain friends and are coparenting their daughter. He worked at the deli counter in Costco for three years before the bombing; he returned to his job a year after the blast in June 2014.[2][3][4]

Bombing

Bauman had been waiting at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, cheering for Hurley and her two roommates, who were participating in the marathon. She was a mile away from the finish when the bombs went off. Carlos Arredondo, who was handing out American flags to the runners, quickly jumped over a fence to reach the blast site. The blast-caused fire in Bauman's shirt was beaten out by Arredondo. He stayed with Bauman and helped carry him to the ambulance. The iconic photograph of Carlos Arredondo in a cowboy hat, helping Bauman was taken by Charles Krupa of the Associated Press during this time.[5][6]

Aftermath

Bauman's surgery was done on the same day, and he had both his legs amputated above the knee. Since he had lost a lot of blood, the doctors had to keep resuscitating him, giving him blood and fluids. He underwent another operation at 1 a.m. to drain the internal fluids, formed by the blunt trauma. He was interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents and gave a description of Tamerlan Tsarnaev, after he sent word to the authorities after waking up from the operation, that he had seen one of the bombers. His accounts were instrumental in narrowing down the suspects from among the people pictured in the area. He was discharged from the hospital four weeks after the blasts. Bauman was given his new prosthetic legs costing $100,000 each, which were manufactured by Otto Bock and had micro-processors to follow his gait. He and Arredondo threw the ceremonial first pitches for the Boston Red Sox a few days later.[5][7][8]

In September 2013, he announced that he would publish a memoir about his experiences at the marathon and his life since then. The book was co-written with author Bret Witter. Photographer Josh Haner of The New York Times, who documented Bauman's recovery process, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for the work. Bauman's book, titled Stronger, was released in April 2014 to coincide with the first anniversary of the bombings. A film based on the memoir, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Bauman and Tatiana Maslany as Hurley, and titled Stronger, was released on September 22, 2017.[9][10][11]

References

  1. "The iconic Boston bombing photograph isn't about my legs – it's about a rescue". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  2. 1 2 "Couple at Center of Upcoming Boston Marathon Bombing Romance Film to Divorce". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  3. "Jeff Bauman marries Erin Hurley". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 7 August 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  4. "Marathon survivor Jeff Bauman and partner welcome baby girl". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 10 February 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 "In Grisly Image, a Father Sees His Son". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  6. "Inside the Image: Hero Carlos Arredondo Helps Boston Marathon Bombing Victim". People. Archived from the original on 5 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  7. "Boston Marathon victim Jeff Bauman helped identify bombers". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  8. "Beyond the Finish Line". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  9. "Jeff Bauman, Boston Marathon bombing survivor, gets book deal". CNN. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  10. "Boston Marathon bomb victim who had both legs blown off in terror attack walks again one year on". Daily Mirror. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  11. "'Stronger': First Trailer Shows Jake Gyllenhaal as Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor". Variety. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.