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ER doctor recounts treating Boston Marathon bombing patients, 10 years later

Flowers are placed at a memorial for victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. (Reba Saldanha/AP)
Flowers are placed at a memorial for victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. (Reba Saldanha/AP)

This Boston Marathon Day, 30,000 runners from 100 countries are running. There’s a somber note as well — Monday’s race marks 10 years since the brutal bombings that claimed the lives of three people. More than 200 others were injured, including 17 who lost limbs.

Doctors around the city heard there had been some kind of incident, but could not have prepared for the flood of patients who arrived, many in critical condition. Boston Medical Center quickly created nine operating rooms, triaging patients in lobbies and corridors.

Among those treating patients was Dr. Ron Medzon, who also trains first responders on mass casualty events. One of his first patients was Jeff Baumann, who lost both legs before going on to identify the bombers. Medzon spoke to Here & Now‘s Robin Young in the hours after the bombing and again today to reflect on the tragedy.

Dr. Ron Medzon treated patients in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings in 2013. (Courtesy of Ron Medzon)

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

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