Associated Files
Title
WBUR Oral History Project: Sam Conley and Dara Casparian
Contributor
Conley, Sam (Interviewee)
Casparian, Dara (Interviewee)
O'Brien, Joanna Shea (Interviewer)
DeCaro, Joanne (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)
Casparian, Dara (Interviewee)
O'Brien, Joanna Shea (Interviewer)
DeCaro, Joanne (Recordist)
McDonough, Ryan (Contributor)
Language
English
Date created
February 15, 2014
Type of resource
Sound recording
Genre
Interviews
Oral histories (document genres)
Oral histories (document genres)
Format
Sound Recording
Digital origin
born digital
Abstract/Description
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.
Notes
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.
Source note
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)
Related item
Our Marathon: The Boston Bombing Digital Archive
Subjects and keywords
Boston Marathon Bombing, Boston, Mass., 2013
Permanent URL
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