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True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives

True stories of ordinary people and the extraordinary events that have shaped their lives.

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Outlook: Marrying The Firefighter Who Saved Me

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Roseann Sdoia embracing her fiancee Mike Materia

13/04/2017 GMT

Marrying The Firefighter Who Saved Me

BBC World Service - Outlook, Marrying The Firefighter Who Saved Me

Four years after the Boston bombings, Roseann Sdoia is set to marry the man who saved her

Roseann Sdoia was badly injured in the 2013 Boston bombings. She lost her leg but recovered and is now engaged to Mike Materia, a firefighter who helped save her life.

On the 15th of April 2013, two bombs exploded along the final route of the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring over two hundred. Standing close to the finishing line that day was Roseann Sdoia cheering on her friend who was taking part in the race.  Roseann was badly injured by the second explosion, she lost much of her right leg and almost lost her life. Several people helped her that day, one of those people was firefighter Mike Materia, the two are now engaged and Roseann has written a book about the event called "Perfect Strangers" 

Marcelo Lusardi is a teenager from Spain, he grew up as a normal child with a passion for skateboarding. When he went blind due to a genetic condition it looked like his life would change forever but Marcelo decided he wouldn't let it defeat him and started to teach himself how to skateboard again.

Tito Vallejo Smith lives in Gibraltar and has a mixed heritage of British and Spanish. Tito works as a local historian, dresses in traditional costume and is the author of the first Llanito dictionary, a language unique to Gibraltar.

Image: Roseann Sdoia embracing Mike Materia.
Credit: Roseann Sdoia.

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