WBUR Oral History Project: Sam Conley and Dara Casparian

Conley, Sam (Interviewee)

Casparian, Dara (Interviewee)
O'Brien, Joanna Shea (Interviewer)
DeCaro, Joanne (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)

English

February 15, 2014

Sound recording

Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)

Sound Recording

born digital

Countless lives were affected by the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and their aftermath. The WBUR Oral History Project collects stories from individuals whose lives were immediately and irrevocably changed by these events. Thanks to the generous sponsorship of WBUR, our team of oral historians, and the participation of these interview subjects, Our Marathon has tried to ensure that these stories are not forgotten. We believe that these stories matter, and that they demonstrate the ways historical events transform the lives of the people who lived through them. Oral historians Jayne K. Guberman, Ph.D., and Joanna Shea O'Brien conducted the interviews for this project. Oral History Project Manager Kristi Girdharry, Our Marathon Project Co-Director Jim McGrath, and Community Outreach Lead Joanne DeCaro recorded the interviews and provided research assistance and post-interview processing. McGrath and Our Marathon Audio Technician Ryan McDonough provided sound editing and processing for all of the interviews and clips. The opinions and statements expressed in interviews and related content featured in the WBUR Oral History Project do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Our Marathon, WBUR, Northeastern University, or any employees or volunteers affiliated with these institutions and projects. Our Marathon and The WBUR Oral History project make no assertions about the veracity of statements made by participants in this project. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital played a critical role in the rehabilitation of many of the most seriously injured survivors of the bombings, including 15 amputees (two of whom were double amputees). They managed the opening of their new facility in the Boston Navy Yard just days after the bombings with the admission and care for dozens of patients and intense media attention, both of which continued for several months. Many of their staff were personally affected as they were runners on the Spaulding marathon charity team or were waiting near the finish line to support the team and witnessed the bombings. Our Marathon's WBUR Oral History Project sought to collect a cross-section of interviews from Spaulding staff to chronicle how the rehabilitative care of marathon bombing survivors was an integral part of the city's response to violence and mass trauma. Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital played a critical role in the rehabilitation of many of the most seriously injured survivors of the bombings, including 15 amputees (two of whom were double amputees). They juggled the opening of their new facility in the Boston Navy Yard just days after the bombings with the admission and care for dozens of patients and intense media attention, both of which continued for several months. Many of their staff were also personally involved as runners on the Spaulding marathon team. In this joint interview, Dara Casparian, Physical Therapist, and Sam Conley, Occupational Therapist, share their stories of caring for the marathon survivors in the spring and summer of 2013. They explain exactly what PT and OT practitioners do and why they love their work in rehabilitative medicine. Sam and Dara continue on to discuss the critical work they did with patients who were injured at the Boston Marathon. They detail the challenges - their own fears of facing trauma so directly, worrying about how they would connect with their patients - and the triumphs - practicing with one patient to prepare her for the first pitch at a Red Sox game, escorting another patient for her first home visit, and taking a patient and his family on an excursion to the New England Aquarium. Dara describes visiting the Copley Square memorial for the first time and getting choked up, and what this event meant or means for the city, especially after having worked so closely with Boston Marathon bombing survivors at Spaulding during their recovery.

The opinions and statements expressed in interviews and related content featured in the WBUR Oral History Project do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Our Marathon, WBUR, Northeastern University, or any employees or volunteers affiliated with these institutions and projects. Our Marathon and The WBUR Oral History project make no assertions about the veracity of statements made by participants in this project.

The WBUR Oral History Project. Sam Conley and Dara Casparian (Oral Histories), Joanna Shea O'Brien (Oral Historian), Joanne DeCaro (Recorder), Ryan McDonough (Sound Processing and Editing)

Our Marathon The Boston Bombing Digital Archive

Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013

Northeastern University Library

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