Brittany Loring is a 2002 Bromfield graduate and a student at Boston College. She is set to earn degrees in both law and business simultaneously this May. She’s a runner, a skier, and a reader. She loves to travel and aspires to learn to surf. In September she is to marry her fiancé John McLoughlin. On April 15, she was critically injured in the Boston Marathon bombing. But to her, this is just a minor detail. Her plans, like her optimism, remain unshaken.
Loring was at the Marathon celebrating her 29th birthday with friends. While at a restaurant, Loring and her friend Lisa decided to get some air, knowing their friend who was running in the Marathon would be passing them shortly. When the friend ran past them, they cheered her on and then followed her toward the finish line where they had agreed to meet. Near the finish line, the pair took up a position with others behind a barrier across from the VIP seating. Then came the blast.
Multiple injuries
Loring stood as soon as she could and instinctively began to run. It wasn’t until she spotted her reflection in a storefront window that she realized she was hurt. At the corner of Exeter Street, three men helped her until she was able to get medical attention. She was brought by ambulance to Boston Medical Center shortly thereafter.
At the hospital, Loring learned she had suffered a skull fracture and had to have three BB’s removed from her head—two from her forehead and one from the side of her head. She also had one BB removed from her clavicle. “The biggest wound I have is a five-inch gash on my leg. They had originally thought it was broken, but it wasn’t, luckily. It [the wound] didn’t go all the way through the muscle, which was lucky as well.” Loring also suffered a two- to three-inch wound on her thigh, as well as a burn on her foot. She has since undergone three surgeries. She hopes the third was her last.
After a harrowing two-and-a-half weeks, student Brittany Loring has been discharged from the hospital and is recovering at her home in Cambridge.
Now in rehabilitation, Loring has physical and occupational therapy three times a week. A visiting nurse checks in on her daily. She praises her family and friends for standing by her during this difficult time. Her classmates have been making her dinner every night, and she has had people visiting her during the day while her fiancé is at work.
Help from Bromfield community
Loring is thankful for local support as well. “I had some unbelievable support from the Bromfield community. I’ve had people reach out who I hadn’t heard from in years. I appreciate all their cards and flowers and visits and support. It’s really been amazing.”
Loring is already making progress. “I’m down to one crutch now, which is exciting. I started with a walker, then I had two crutches, and now I’m down to one.” She explained that she’s counting on her physical therapy to strengthen her legs. “My graduations are May 20 and 24, and I’d really like to be able to walk without my crutch by then.”
A ‘wise’ energy
Recently, Loring met the three men who helped her the day of the attack. She said of the reunion, “It was really nice to meet them. They were so nice. I think they were really happy to meet me, as well, because they had been thinking about me the whole time.” Because they hadn’t been injured, Loring said, the three hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about what they had seen. “For them it was important. They kept saying it was a form of closure for them.”
Daisy Wiggins, a close friend of Loring since the seventh grade, has been regularly visiting her. She said of their relationship, “The reason we’ve remained friends for so long is because Brittany is exceptionally good at staying in touch with people and being such a wonderful friend to so many. She’s got this wise energy about her, and she’s always been the first person I go to when I’m facing a problem because she’s so good at making me feel at ease about life.”
Wiggins says that it’s now her turn to help Brittany. “She’s always had my back and the backs of so many others, and now we’ve got hers. Britt truly has an army of people rallying around her right now who just adore her.”
To donate to Brittany Loring’s recovery fund, go to https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/f582/recoveryforbrittany. This fund will help pay for out-of-pocket expenses resulting from her surgeries and rehabilitation.
Press intern Erin Fay will graduate from Fitchburg State University this month.
