Adrianne Haslet April 2015 - Babbittville

Bob:	Our next guest, one of our favorite people on the planet, she just completed the Boston Marathon, Adrianne Haslet joins us. Adrianne, first of all, how are you feeling after running the Boston Marathon?
Adrianne:	Bob, it’s so good to talk to you. Thank you for having me. I’m feeling good. I finally am able to put my leg back on, which is a feat in itself after it swells up so big, but my goodness worth it, worth, it worth it, worth it. What a beautiful day. I feel elated, and I can’t believe it’s been a week. I woke up this morning thinking, “It’s Monday. Oh my gosh, it’s been a week.”
Bob:	I know.
Adrianne:	I feel like it’s been this fog of amazing memories all week.
Bob:	Well, think about it. You were at the Red Sox game, Celtics game, with Anderson Cooper, getting this tweet: *“Thank you Adrienne for being Boston Strong. Terrorists can’t beat us. We carry on. We finish the race,”* President Barrack Obama, plus, “Adrianne, thank you for being my inspiration,” from Tom Brady. That’s some pretty cool stuff.
Adrianne:	That’s some pretty cool stuff. It takes a minute to absorb all of that.
Bob:	It’s funny from over the years of working with challenged athletes, one of the messages that comes through loud and clear is, your life is going to be different, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be worse. It can take you in a totally different direction.
Adrianne:	One hundred percent.
Bob:	If somebody had told you that after the bombings of 2013, I’m sure your response then would be different than it is now.
Adrianne:	One hundred percent. Yes. Directly after whatever caused you to be amputee, it doesn’t matter the circumstances, you’re in this state of disbelief, and my life will never be the same. Like you said, someone can come up and tell you that it’ll be different, but it won’t be worse, there’s nothing that can tell you that. You’re in the worst place in that moment, mentally and physically. Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed it for a second.
Bob:	What’s interesting is I think you have helped change a stigma from a perspective of, at the beginning it was all about the bombing victims. I think you have been very insistent that people refer to you and others as bombing survivors, and every article I read now says bombing survivor, which obviously more appropriate. Why was that important to you? It’s basically just a word.
Adrianne:	Yeah. It is a word, and at first I’m thinking, “Am I fighting for just a word? Is this something that’s silly and minute and just for myself?” Then I started to talk to other people that were in the hospital for a multitude of different reasons, not just the Boston bombings, and I thought “These words matter.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, sticks and stones will obliterate my bones, but words will stay with me forever. That is true for everyone, and what we say in moments of trauma to patients in a hospital, whether they’re our loved ones, or whether we are in medical community, those matter, and they stick hard. I remember vividly all the things people said wrong. I also remember vividly all the things people said right. Being a survivor gives you hope towards the future, and being a victim means you’re stuck. I just couldn’t take it. I couldn’t handle that word. I realized I’m fighting for so much more than just a word. I’m fighting for the stigma that comes with it, like you said.
Bob:	I bet you that a lot of the other survivors from Boston were grateful that you were so insistent on the change from victim to survivor.
Adrianne:	I have heard that, and I’m very thankful for that. It really matters to me, and I’m glad it matters to others as well.
Bob:	The other thing from our last interview that stuck out to me was the fact that when you were in the hospital, you didn’t want to know what had happened. All you knew was here’s the result, this is the end product, I’ve got to get better. How it happened, the anger that could come along with that, that serves me no purpose right now. How important was that in terms of your recovery?
Adrianne:	It was so crucially important. I had said before, I thought the bombs came from the sky for a long time. I just didn’t know. I had a sign on the outside of the door, and my medical team, and all of my family and friends knew, that I didn’t want to know. They came in once and told me that it was difficult to get to the hospital today because the city was on lock down, but that I didn’t need to know why. That’s all I remember hearing. I was like “Okay, if they don’t think I need to know why, then I’m not going to know why.” I don’t know what sparked me to make the decision to say I don’t want to know, but I remember the first night, there was a television on because I was sharing the room with somebody, and I remember hearing little random things. I heard terror, and I immediately screamed and screamed and screamed so that I wouldn’t hear it. Finally they came in and turned the TV off. I couldn’t see it, but I could hear it. I think it was crucial to my recovery, because I could focus in on what the situation was and deal with the situation at hand, and not have this, “I can’t believe this whole other story,” on top of it.
Bob:	Well the anger…
Adrianne:	It’s too much to handle.
Bob:	Yeah.
Adrianne:	For one brain it’s too much, for one heart, too much, and the anger as well, way too much.
Bob:	One of the things that impressed me, Anderson Cooper was involved from the very beginning. It’s obvious that relationship is more than just, “Hey I’m covering a story.” He seemed to really care. What type of relationship did you develop with Anderson over the period of time, because the Survivor Diaries are incredibly insightful, and they’re raw. They’re not just showing the happy smiley Adrianne, they’re showing how difficult this whole experience is.
Adrianne:	Yeah. Thank you. I’m glad that that’s the take away, because that was the goal from the beginning, and I talked to Anderson and you’re right. We definitely formed a bond from the very beginning, hence how I was able to talk him into dance lessons.
Bob:	Yes. I loved that by the way.
Adrianne:	Called him out on national television, right?
Bob:	Yes.
Adrianne:	It was really important to me, and I had told them that from the beginning. He and his main producer, Chuck. I told them that I really wanted it to be raw and to show the grit, because I’m not inspired by the amputee that crosses the finish line, or stands on top of the mountain. I’m inspired by the grit, and the mess, and the real life that got them there. That’s important to me, and it was important to them as well. They knew that if we only showed the happy-go-lucky parts, A, no one would believe it because that’s not what’s true, as we both know, and B, it’s important to show, not only for the people that are going through it, but for the caretakers as well. They can say, “Oh, that’s why they’re acting that way. They have all this hidden anger. Okay, that may not directed at me. It may be misdirected, and misplaced anger.” It was important to show all of it. Anderson told me that he really appreciates and respects the fact that I wanted that from the beginning, and that helped to form an even closer bond.
Bob:	Adrianne, what was the lowest point for you?
Adrianne:	Gosh, it was waiting for a leg, and waiting to walk on the leg because there’s a difference, as you know. I just stink at waiting, and I’m just a very impatient person as I know the athletes that you have on your show would be. We all hate waiting, and then we get our leg, and I naively thought that you just pop it on and go. That’s not the case. That was my lowest point. Just getting through that agonizing time of waiting and then getting your leg, and taking these steps without being able to put your full weight on the leg and that would take your whole day. Then you’re totally exhausted at the end of it. It was that and all of the waiting. It just stinks. That was my low. I was really impatient. I was angry. I had all this misplaced anger that was going into places that it shouldn’t, into my loved ones. We’ve talked about it a lot since then, but it was really bad for everyone involved.
Bob:	I remember chatting with a gentleman who was paralyzed when he was hit by a car while training on his bike. He told me something that was pretty insightful. He said, “You know, for the people that surrounded me, for all my loved ones, I realized early on that I was the barometer. If I was in a good mood, if I was doing well, they would do well. If I was down, if I was depressed, if I was just constantly negative, they couldn’t move on. They would be negative.” Did you find that as well, that people around you were sort of on pins and needles just seeing how you would be?
Adrianne:	Yes. One hundred percent, and I agree with his statement a hundred percent. You are the barometer, and they do come in and they kind of take the temperature of the room and, as I always put it, and see what’s going on. It’s based off of you, really, but that’s hard. That’s a lot of pressure as well. For me it was really important to be emotionally honest, and it took me a long time to really realize that. But once I did I could say, “Listen, today’s not a good day. I really want to hang out with you, but I have to let you know that it’s not a good day, it’s not going to be a happy-go-lucky day.” Not only is that being emotionally honest with yourself, but it’s being emotionally honest to people around you so that they know that your sadness is not something that needs to be healed. It just needs to happen, and that’s okay.
Bob:	As a ballroom dancer, as somebody who just loves to dance, how important was it to you, for your healing, to get back to dancing again?
Adrianne:	It was so important. I have so many people that have asked me, “How did you find the strength to dance again?” I just kept thinking to myself, first my inner dialogue was, well duh, it’s dancing.
Bob:	Right. That’s who you are.
Adrianne:	I don’t know how to put it into words. It’s just dancing. But over time it came to the point where it was like, giving up on dancing was way more daunting than trying to figure out how on earth I’m going to do this again. It was crucially important. I don’t think I had a choice.
Bob:	No, it’s part of your DNA.
Adrianne:	Yeah. I had a choice of whether or not to show up and do the work, but at the same time I didn’t, if that makes sense. It’s just part of who I am.
Bob:	Running is not a part of who you are, right? You didn’t really have a history in that, but it was obviously important to you, three years after the tragedy in Boston, for you to run and complete this marathon. You seemed like a woman on a mission. I watched video of you training. This was serious stuff. It seemed to me it was almost a little bit of closure from three years ago to now, that I am going to run and complete this marathon, to show that I’m back.
Adrianne:	Yes. It was. I danced again, and I remember coming back from Vancouver where I had publicly performed for the first time. People were cheering for me, and the equal amount of people that were cheering for me were saying, “You know what’s next… the marathon.”
Bob:	And you’re like, no way.
Adrianne:	I’m thinking, “Can we just have a couple weeks before we move onto the next thing?” Yes, I definitely had it in my heart and in my head that I wanted to do this marathon. It was important to me because it was important to Boston. I wanted to say my thanks for every kind word, every hug on the street corner, every time someone reached a hand across the table or sent a note. I wanted to do it, and it was really hard training and It was really hard learning. On race day, I had a leg issue very early on. I’d never had a leg issue in any of my training. The only injury I had while training was a hip flexor issue, and it passed, and then I was golden. This time I had a really bad leg injury during the race, but it was all about finishing. I wanted to finish what I had started talking about three years prior, and I never lost sight of that. I put the 507 number on my nails, and on my hand I wrote it in permanent marker so that I wouldn’t sweat it off. That was for the number of new amputees in the U. S. every day, and I was running for them.
Bob:	Wow. One of the issues that a lot of our athletes have is the fact that you don’t just represent yourself. There’s sort of an obligation, a responsibility, to help the next amputee. You learn something from your experience that can help someone at Limbs For Life, or The Challenged Athletes Foundation. No one can relate to that next amputee like you can. How important is that role in your life now, to help that next person, to help, not so much a bombing victim or a bombing survivor, but somebody who has been injured in a car accident, or just being there to answer those questions?
Adrianne:	It’s crucially important for me, and it’s something that I never lose sight of. The world rallied around Boston, and it was very early on when I got involved with American Orthotics and Prosthetic Association as well as the Amputee Coalition of America and Mobility Saves. We went to Congress a couple of times and staged peaceful protests, and fought for rights for the amputee community. That was early on, and it really opened my eyes to the entire community. It’s easy for us to be stuck in a bubble thinking this happened to Boston, and it’s only about us, but it’s not at all. The world rallied around Boston and I want to rally around the amputee community as a thank you. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t do that. The amputee community needs help. They’re getting really, really, really, really messed up over insurance fights, and it’s tough, and it is nasty, and it’s a human rights issue. I could go on my soapbox forever, but you know.
Bob:	Exactly.
Adrianne:	It’s very important to me, and I never lose sight of that. It’s crucial that we all rally around each other and help each other out. It’s not just about what happened in Boston at all. There’s so many people that need our help.
Bob:	I think a lot of people think “Okay my health insurance will be there if something happens to me,” and yeah, they’ll be there for a walking around leg, but if Adrianne Haslet wants to go dance, if Adrianne Haslet wants to run a marathon, if Adrianne Haslet wants to ride a bike, there’s three different legs that you need for that. Insurance doesn’t cover that because prosthetics for sport are considered a “luxury” item by the insurance companies, and that has to change.
Adrianne:	It has to change. It has even come to the point now where even the everyday leg is in jeopardy because, under these new guidelines, if you use a walker, or a crutch, or a wheelchair during your recovery, which by the way you’re required to do in a hospital for safety, you may not get a leg at all.
Bob:	Wow.
Adrianne:	That’s ridiculous. Insurance and Medicare are saying, “Well you’ve proved you can be mobile with a different device. Why do we need to give you a leg?” It’s jeopardizing all of that. I always go back to the eyeglass analogy. For eyeglasses, if they took away all of our eyeglasses and contact lenses we would be in big trouble, and it shouldn’t be like that for amputees.
Bob:	Out of all of this, Is there one or two moments that mean the most to you when you look back on this three-year journey?
Adrianne:	Oh gosh, that’s a great question Bob. Seeing Tom Grilk, the head of the Boston Athletic Association with my medal when I turned down Boylston Street. It was like a mirage where everything else disappeared, and all I saw was him with a smile on his face and the medal. I would say calling my parents after I danced again-
Bob:	Yes.
Adrianne:	… and shark diving.
Bob:	Shark diving?
Adrianne:	I went shark diving within the first year after the 2013 marathon, yeah. That was a dream that came true thanks to a lot of people. I went down there without my leg on, but it was a hundred feet underwater and three hundred miles off the coast of Costa Rica. It was amazing. I’d say those would be my three highlights.
Bob:	What is next in the life of Adrianne Haslet, now that you’ve got this platform, you finished the marathon and you’ve changed the dialogue from victim to survivor. What’s next for you?
Adrianne:	I think what’s next for me is a little bit of a vacation.
Bob:	It’s well deserved.
Adrianne:	Thank you. Before that, I have We Day, which is coming up this Wednesday in Chicago. It’s a global event that is targeted to help youth, and help change the future so rather than people thinking of me, they start thinking of we as a community and as a world. It’s brought to you by Free The Children, and I’m honored and humbled to be a part of that with some good friends. I’m also working on a book.
Bob:	Adrianne, I don’t think anybody has said it better than President Obama when said “Thank you Adrianne for being Boston Strong. Terror and bombs can’t beat us. We carry on. We finish the race.” That last line, we finish the race, that’s exactly what you did last Monday.
Adrianne:	I can’t believe it. Yeah, I can’t believe it. Thank you.
Bob:	Adrianne Haslet, marathoner.
Adrianne:	Who knew?
Bob:	Who knew? Next, of course, you are going to the Ironman………
Adrianne:	Yeah, I want to do a Tough Mudder. I think that would be fun.
Bob:	Well, we certainly can help you with Spartan Race, Tough Mudder, Ironman…. anything you want to do.
Adrianne:	I’m calling you. I’m calling you.
Bob:	We’ve got to get you back out here for CAF’s San Diego Triathlon Challenge in October.
Adrianne:	That would be great. I would love to.
Bob:	Adrianne, thank you for understanding that you are a role model. A lot of times it’s very difficult for people to understand that because you had a very private life before all this happened. Yes you were a public person when you were dancing, but people didn’t know you beyond that. You have embraced the spotlight that’s now on you, and you’re doing wonderful, wonderful things to impact other people’s lives. I appreciate that.
Adrianne:	Well, thank you Bob. I appreciate you and all that you’re doing for athletes, and I really appreciate those words. They mean a lot. Thank you.

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