Jeff Bauman, the Boston bombing victim who’s become the face of resilience since the attacks, recently took his first steps toward independence.


In its extensive profile, The New York Times[1] painted the painstaking efforts Bauman, who lost both legs in the bombings, has made in order to heal and learn to live with his injuries. The 27-year-old is perhaps one of the most well known survivors -- in large part because of a gruesome photo that went viral, showing him being wheeled away from the finish line with a peace activist in a cowboy hat pinching his artery closed.


Read the entire New York Times profile here.[2]


carlos arredondo boston


Now, nearly two months after the bombings and a number of surgeries, Bauman manages his pain with a baggie of prescribed pills and works with a physical therapist to strengthen his body and learn to walk again with his prosthetics.


“I just want to get to the places I can’t get in the wheelchair, you know? I want to stand up,” Bauman told his prosthetist’s assistant, according to the Times.[3]


With his mom and girlfriend by his side, Bauman recently took his first few steps.


jeff bauman walking


To get to this point, Bauman has gotten help from an incredible amount of supporters. His Facebook page[4] has more than 95,000 fans and his personal fundraising campaign[5] has accrued nearly $800,000.


He’s getting help paying for his prosthetics, which cost about $100,000 each, from the Wiggle Your Toes Foundation[6] -- a nonprofit that supports amputees.


Within hours of the bombings, the foundation already connected with four victims[7] , according to myfoxtwincities.


"You're completely lost. You have no idea what happened, why it happened," Aaron Holm an amputee and founder of Wiggle Your Toes[8] , told the news outlet. "Then, you start thinking forward, trying to figure out what the rest of your life is going to look like."


Bauman certainly has started to get an idea of what the rest of his vibrant life may look like.


He expressed concern about not being able to do all of the activities he once loved, but Bauman has been already pretty active during his recovery.


He threw out the first pitch at a Red Sox game[9] in May and showed the world on his Facebook page pictures of him swimming with his girlfriend and driving a boat.


It’s the kind of perseverance he’s upheld since he was critically injured.


“You only look forward,” Bauman told WEEI back in April. “I had a lot to live for before, and I've got a lot to live for now."

[10]



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  • **EDITORS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT** First responders including Carlos Arredondo, in cowboy hat, tend to Jeff Bauman, who was severely wounded after two explosions occurred along the final stretch of the Boston Marathon on Boylston Street in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., on Monday, April 15, 2013. Two powerful explosions rocked the finish line area of the Boston Marathon near Copley Square and police said many people were injured. Photographer: Kelvin Ma/Bloomberg **EDITORS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT**




  • Jeff and his mother, Patty Bauman, pose at the hospital.




  • BOSTON, MA - MAY 28: Boston Marathon bombing victim, Jeff Bauman, is wheeled out to the pitchers mound before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch by Carlos Arredondo, the man who came to his aid immediately following the explosions, prior to the interleague game between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies on May 28, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)




  • BOSTON, MA - MAY 28: Boston Marathon bombing victim, Jeff Bauman, is wheeled out to the pitchers mound before throwing out the ceremonial first pitch by Carlos Arredondo, the man who came to his aid immediately following the explosions, prior to the interleague game between the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Phillies on May 28, 2013 at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)




  • BOSTON - MAY 28: Boston Marathon bombing victim Jeff Bauman threw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game. The Philadelphia Phillies visited the Boston Red Sox in a regular season MLB baseball game at Fenway Park. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)




  • Jeff learns to use his prosthetic legs.




  • 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Six


    BOSTON, MA - JUNE 24: Boston Marathon bombing victim, Jeff Bauman (C), holds the hand of Carlos Arredondo (L), the man who came to his aid immediately following the explosions, after being wheeled out to wave the Boston Strong Flag prior to Game Six of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on June 24, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Dave Sandford - Pool/Getty Images)




  • Jeff playing guitar in the hospital.




  • Jeff and his girlfriend, Erin Hurley, swim together at her family's BBQ.