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Boston Marathon victim donates prosthetic leg to amputee

Trisha Thadani
USA TODAY
Prosthetist Arthur Graham compares Hillary Cohen's old prosthetic leg to the new one on her right leg.

BOSTON - Hillary Cohen has some shoe shopping to do, thanks to a Boston Marathon bombing survivor who gave her the gift of a lifetime - a prosthetic leg that allows her to wear high heels again.

"It's better than my other leg," says Cohen, 26, brimming with emotion and donning her new prosthetic leg and three-inch, bedazzled wedges. She had her right leg amputated below the knee two years ago following complications from a tumor that began in her foot when she was 13.

Cohen received the prosthetic leg - which cost around $70,000 - for free from the Heather Abbott Foundation. The foundation was formed by 40-year-old Heather Abbott, who lost a leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, to help fund the pricey prosthetics for other amputees.

Abbott says the ability for a woman to wear heels is something that is very dear. She had promised herself after she lost her own leg that she would do whatever it took to wear high heels again.

Not only were her heels a staple of her wardrobe, but they also were a mark of confidence and womanhood that she wasn't going to let the bombing take away from her. It had already taken enough.

And so, with a custom-made and carefully detailed prosthetic leg, she was back in her high heels only six months later, thanks to the large amount of donations she received after the bombing.

Amputation 'what I needed to do,' says Heather Abbott

"Not having to give up anything and going back to my life the way it was before was extremely important to me," Abbott said. "I knew it was something that I need to help me heal."

Cohen's leg is the first donation by the foundation.

Cohen, who lives in Massachusetts, developed a tumor on her right heel at age 13. As she grew older the tumor grew bigger, making simple activities such as walking and sleeping excruciatingly painful.

At age 24 she decided enough was enough, and she had her right foot amputated.

Abbott said Cohen was so supportive of her foundation when they met, that she knew she would be the first one to receive the donation of a prosthetic-leg made by Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics, located outside of Boston.

Hillary Cohen poses with her new prosthetic leg, which was donated to her by the Heather Abbott Foundation

The prosthetic leg not only matches Cohen's skin color, but also is detailed right down to the veins and toenails.

Arthur Graham, a prosthetist for Next Step, said the prosthetic leg such as the one that Cohen received is "a work of art."

First the prosthetic is fitted and casted to the amputee's leg, and then it is sent to an artist in England who mixes the color for the skin, adds the silicon covering, paints on the freckles and adds shading for muscles.

Arthur said that many insurance companies do not fund such prosthetic legs because they are considered a "purely cosmetic procedure."

Although, he said, for women, it's more than just a cosmetic — but a boost of confidence and form of healing.

"These prosthetics are not for high activity, but are more for just dressing up and looking stunning," he said. "Girls want to wear nice shoes … and we recognize that."

A prosthetic leg like the one Cohen received would typically cost around $70,000. Next Step cut the price in half for the Abbott Foundation so that the foundation could give the prosthetic to Cohen for free.

Cohen currently has a metal prosthetic leg that she can walk in and wear to the gym and work, but it limits her to wearing flat shoes.

Although it may seem menial, Cohen said, she feels like she missed out on something when she was younger by not being able to wear heels – that mark of wobbly adolescence and coming-of-age.

"I've never got to experience that part of becoming an adolescent," she said. "But now getting this leg from Heather means I have a whole new wardrobe."

Follow USA TODAY reporter Trisha Thadani on Twitter: @TrishaThadani 

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