Heather Abbott, shown 20 March, had her left leg amputated before the knee. Within four months of getting a prosthetic leg, Abbott went paddle boarding. Soon after, she got a special leg so she could walk in four-inch heels, her preferred footwear. She also has a special running blade, as well as an everyday leg. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Abbott appears at an 25 April 2013, news conference at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston. Wanting to do all the things she did before the bombing, Abbott made the difficult decision to have her left leg amputated. Four surgeons had told her there was a good possibility she would never walk again. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

Roseann Sdoia works out on a rowing machine at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on 11 March. Sdoia goes to Spaulding twice a week for hour-long workouts with a physical therapist, and then she usually hops on the rowing machine to build her endurance after her therapy session. She aims to run again, a hobby she loved doing before her injury. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

Sdoia uses crutches as she leaves Spaulding on 13 May 2014. She was at the finish line on 15 April 2013, rooting for friends in the race, when the second bomb went off. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

Sdoia walks with her boyfriend, Boston firefighter Mike Materia, after a doctor's appointment in Newton, Massachusetts. Materia, who came to her aid after being severely injured in the bombing, is credited with helping to save Sdoia's life. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

Boston EMT Paul Mitchell, left, bystander Carlos Arredondo, in cowboy hat, and Boston University student Devin Wang push Jeff Bauman in a wheelchair after the bombing. Bauman and his three rescuers, became one of the most recognizable and powerful symbols of Boston's resilience after the 15 April attacks Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

This combination of March 2014 photos shows Arredondo, Wang, Bauman and Mitchell, clockwise from top left. Bauman, who has written about the photo for the Guardian, says he's seen the iconic image only once. Photograph: Charles Krupa/AP

Marc Fucarile holds hands with his mother, Maureen Fucarile, left, and his fiancee, Jennifer Regan, right, in his room at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in May 2013. Fucarile was only feet away from one bomb blasts, and lost one leg. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

A year later, Fucarile puts on a prosthetic leg at his home in Reading, Massachusetts. He is adamant that he will recover and return to a full and active life. He wants to be a motivational speaker and to set up a fund to help those who have suffered similar injuries, no matter the circumstances. Photograph: Steven Senne/AP

"It's been mind-blowing. ... All these good people who stepped out, who helped us, helped so many of us," Fucarile says. "All the victims I know feel the same way. Complete strangers who give when they don't have." Photograph: Steven Senne/AP