The Boston Marathon bombing changed Rose-Ann Sdoia’s life forever. She lost her right leg due to serious injuries but she met the love of her life, fire fighter Mike Materia who saved her in the attack.
In the 2013 bombings when she was seriously injured, Mike comforted her, holding her hand as she was rushed to the hospital. I asked him if I was going to die. He told me that I was going to be OK, that I only had “a flesh wound.” Sdoia told New York Post.
Due to grave injuries, Sdoia’s right leg had to be amputated above the knee. Materia, 37, regularly visited her to check on how she was recovering.
- Screenshot of the video on YouTube.
She was a long distance runner and was a spectator near the finishing line of the marathon when the bomb exploded. She would have lost her interest in running and marathons if not for Materia’s love. He helped find a prosthetic to get her life back physically and emotionally.
Their friendship soon blossomed into love and during a trip to Nantucket, Massachusetts. Materia proposed Sdoia. Materia got their dog Sal to wear an engraved tag that read, “Mike wants to know . . . if you’ll marry him?”
- Screenshot of the video on youtube.
Last week, the love birds climbed the 1,576 steps of the Empire State Building to raise money for the Challenged Athletes Foundation that helps people with physical disabilities pursue active lifestyles.
“I think that he’s just so kind and caring, and endearing. He has been so supportive of me,” Sdoia said.
- Screenshot of the video on YouTube.
He told me that there’s nothing I can not do. When you are in a condition like having your leg amputated, a lot of things change for you personally, mentally, and physically. None of that has been an issue for him.
In March, the couple plan to publish a book called Perfect Strangers. The book is about four strangers whose lives intersected due to the bombings.
They plan to marry in the fall. Watch their love story here: