Valentine’s Day Flash Mob Makes Unforgettable Gift For Marathon Bomb Survivors
Valentine’s Day 2014 will probably go down as a once-in-a-lifetime memory for two survivors of last year’s deadly Boston Marathon bombings. It was the first Valentine’s Day since the terror attack last April 15 that killed three and injured 264 more, some seriously.
Among the wounded were Jessica Downes and her husband Patrick. This year, Jessica wanted to do something for her husband that would mark the day as extra-memorable. But the response turned out to be even more than she anticipated.
With the help of NEADS, a an organization that provides service dogs for the disabled, a dancing flash mob materialized in Boston’s Copley Square, where Jessica had brought Patrick on the pretext that they were going to be part of a video about her service dog.
The flash mob actually happened yesterday, the day before Valentine’s Day — but who’s counting?
Even more of a Valentine’s Day surprise came when Patrick saw who was in the crowd. He recognized the faces of fellow Marathon bombing survivors, as well as health care professionals, social workers, friends and family, all of whom had a part in helping him and Jessica recover from the physical and mental trauma of the bomb attacks.
“There has clearly been a lot of sadness over the next 10 months and I don’t think that will go away but there is also a lot of reasons to celebrate,” Patrick Downes told Boston’s WBZ TV. “There have been so many people that have come together over these last months, out city and the larger community and that’s something to be celebrated, because it a wonderful product that has come out of a tragedy. People have treated us with tremendous amounts of love and care, and we wouldn’t be there without them.”
“They were part of our recovery so do something where we are all dancing and celebrating, and not doing our wound care and dressing changes,” Jessica said of the Valentine’s Day surprise. “It’s just really fun.”
Check out a video of the Valentine’s day flash mob, put together by NEADS, below.
