Boston, MA — Jeff Bauman came out on the ice in a pre-game ceremony before tonight’s Toronto Maple Leafs -Boston Bruins NHL playoff game and inspired the crowd by waving a “Boston Strong” banner.
The honorary fan banner captain ceremony usually involves the honoree waiving the Bruins banner, but this of course was a special ceremony for a special person.
While Bauman waived the Boston Strong flag in the ceremony, fans enthusiastically passed a Bruins banner through the crowd.
On April 15, Bauman was standing near the finish line of the Boston Marathon waiting for his girlfriend to finish when the bomb exploded. The explosion tore off his legs beneath the knee, and an extremely graphic photo showed paramedics and Carlos Arredondo bringing Bauman out in a wheelchair.
Despite his devastating injuries, Bauman was not deterred. When he was still in intensive care, the 27-year-old gave the FBI a description that helped determine the identity of the two suspects from thousands of people seen in the photos.
In a statement, Jeff Bauman had this to say: “I want to thank everyone for their amazing support for me and all those injured and their families. I’m making great progress and I thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Please continue to respect our space at this time. I want to thank the Bruins players and organization for the generosity and support for all those impacted. Like all those in Black and Gold I can’t wait to see them on another quest for the cup. Go Bruins!”
Jeff Bauman has been getting help from across the country in his recovery. He does not have health insurance, so some of his friends began asking the internet for donations to cover his high costs. They created a page on the crowdfunding site gofundme.com as part of this important effort.
At this writing, Toronto leads Boston 3-2 late in the third period of game 2.
Watch Jeff Bauman as the Bruins official flag bearer in the fan banner captain ceremony before tonight’s game:
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