by Jen Myers (Photos Courtesy Jen Myers)

LOWELL – There was an excitement in the air on the morning of April 15, 2013. Lowell native Celeste Corcoran and her family were headed to Boston to cheer on her sister, Carmen Acabbo, as she ran her first Boston Marathon.

“I was so proud of my sister and the way she trained,” Celeste recalled. “I needed to see her run the marathon. I needed to watch her cross the finish line.”

She did not get that opportunity.

At 2:49 p.m. two homemade pressure cooker bombs placed near the Boylston Street finish line exploded 14 seconds apart, killing three people and injuring hundreds of others, 16 of whom lost limbs.

Celeste Corcoran lost both of her legs that day. Her daughter, Sydney, who was a senior at Lowell High School at the time, nearly bled to death on the sidewalk, her femoral artery severed by shrapnel.

On Wednesday, Celeste visited the STEM Academy along with Steve Chamberland. Steve lost his leg in a motorcycle accident in 1999 and later founded 50 Legs, a charity that has helped more than 750 people, mostly children, get prosthetic legs and running blades.

The assembly was orchestrated by the school’s Positive Vibes Committee – the school’s SEL (Social Emotional Learning) team who coordinate SEL learning and ensure that the school’s core values are reinforced and lived every day.

This month, STEM students have been learning about disabilities, including those that are visible and invisible, and how to show respect and have empathy for those different than you.

Celeste Corcoran has experienced some very dark days, emotionally and physically – including nearly debilitating phantom limb nerve pain where her legs once were; but, she told the students assembled in the gymnasium at the STEM – you find a way to keep going.

“Every morning when I wake up, I have a choice – do I want to feel bad for myself and stay in bed and not do anything?” she said, adding that if she did that every day there were be no point of her still being here.

“People died that day,” Celeste said, adding that in order to respect them and the lives they did not get to live, “I have to live my best life. If I still had hate in my heart I might as well have died that day.”

Instead, she took strength from those around her who were encouraging her and those who let her vent and lean on them; she dug deep within herself to find a level of strength she never knew she had.

“Each one of you is stronger than you think you are,” she said.  “You find a way.”

Celeste also takes time to be thankful and grateful for what she does have and the positive experiences that have come from the tragedy, including all of the wonderful friends she has made and Sydney meeting her husband, Colin.

Celeste met Colin’s mom in the waiting room at Prosthetic & Orthotic Associates in Florida. Colin had lost his leg in October 2015 to a tiger shark while surfing off of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.

The two ladies stuck up a friendship and decided to go to a fundraiser for 50 Legs together and bring their kids. The rest is history. Sydney and Colin are now married and living in Hawaii – and he is surfing again.

“If that hadn’t happened to me, if I hadn’t lost my legs, my daughter wouldn’t have met her husband,” Celeste said. “There is good that comes from bad.”

Steve has an attitude very similar to Celeste’s.

In the days after his accident, he wondered if he would ever be able to do anything again. He had no insurance and no money. It took him five months to get a prosthetic leg.

A very large and athletic guy, who had played semi-pro football and amateur hockey, it was hard for him to imagine being active again. However, he managed to become a pro wrestler AFTER losing his leg.

“It is what is inside of you that defines the man or woman you become,” Steve told the kids.

Today, he sees losing his leg as a blessing that led him to his true purpose. Once he saw how difficult and expensive it was to get a prosthetic leg, he knew he wanted to create an organization to make that challenge less daunting.

“It is the greatest when you get to see these kids smile,” he said. “It is a way for them to be normal.”

Reinforcing what they have been learning, Steve told the kids at the STEM that everyone is different in one way or another, so never make fun of people. He gave them the best advice you can give anyone.

“Treat people the way you want to be treated,” he said.

For more information about 50 Legs, visit: https://50legs.org/