LONG CLIMB TO RECOVERY
Bauman battles back to be ‘Stronger’
Jeff Bauman spent last night rock climbing as he continues to grow stronger every day.
Bauman, who lost both his legs below the knees in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, is gaining ground one step at a time. His past four years have featured surgeries, rehabilitation, learning how to walk again, a marriage, a child and immeasurable pain.
“I got myself into trouble. I was drinking and partying a lot and it caught up with me. It put a strain on all my relationships, including my most important relationship,” Bauman said. “A year ago, I quit drinking. I changed a lot in a year. I’m getting my head clear. I was flying by the seat of my pants. Now it’s totally different.”
Bauman has begun his path toward a degree in mechanical engineering a UMass Lowell by taking classes at Middlesex Community College. He even hit the climbing wall at Brooklyn Boulders in Somerville last night.
The movie “Stronger” telling Bauman’s tale stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Bauman and opens Sept. 22.
“I’m scared. Seeing my life being told in a movie. That is nerve-wracking. Wouldn’t you be scared if your life was going to be a movie?” he asked. Yes, anybody would. A 159-second, emotionally jam-packed trailer for “Stronger” hit the interwebs Thursday. The movie was filmed in and around Boston, and at times crossed paths with Mark Wahlberg’s “Patriots Day.”
“There are no fake characters in this movie,” Bauman added.
Bauman won’t see the film until next week. He was actively involved with the production by being “part of a triangle” between himself, Gyllenhaal and director David Gordon Green. “They got it down to four or five main points. The trailer looks great. Jake did a really great job. I didn’t see any of the filming. When I saw the trailer, I was in awe of how good he was,” Bauman said.
Telling his story, Bauman told me, has helped him find peace.
“It has been therapeutic. The movie is going to capture all my struggles,” he said. “I was going through a lot of rough stuff. I didn’t think the movie was going to go there.”
Bauman began working on the book “Stronger” just a few months after the attack. “I just wasn’t paying attention much,” he said. “(Co-author) Bret Witter just followed me around. With the movie, I was more able to be into it and think about it more. I think the movie is going to be really great. These are great artists and great filmmakers. I am nervous. And lucky.”
Bauman grew up in Chelmsford. He was at the marathon finish line that April day to cheer on his then-girlfriend, Erin Hurley. The image of him being wheeled from the carnage by Carlos Arredondo became an icon of the Boston Strong movement. Bauman’s description of Tamerlan Tsarnaev delivered from his bed at Boston Medical Center helped law enforcement identify the bombers.
Bauman wants fellow victims of terrorism to know they have someone who understands their trauma — physical and otherwise. “You see that stuff happen more and more,” he said. “I feel for everyone that is going through stuff in London and other places. It’s tough for me to see it. I’ve been through it. If telling my story could help people who have been through it, that’s good.”
Bauman remains gracious toward everyone associated with “Stronger” and the people of Greater Boston. “I can’t think of words to say how nice everyone has been.”
Bauman and Hurley got married in November 2014 but were separated earlier this year. Their daughter, Nora, turns 3 next month. They will watch the movie together next week.
“Erin is my best friend. The movie will go into our troubles. It was tough. We haven’t even started the divorce stuff yet, we’re just separated. We’re not even focusing on the relationship. It’s all about co-parenting for our daughter. I don’t have time for anything else.” Including movie stardom. “At the end of the day I just want to be a normal guy, hang out with my daughter, go to school, and work on prosthetics.”