Marathon Bombing Survivor, Engaged to the Fireman Who Saved Her, Climbs Empire State Building Stairs

A Boston Marathon Bombing survivor this week took on a tough feat for even the best-conditioned athlete, let alone an amputee. Climbing by her side was her fiancee, the fireman who came to her rescue that terrifying day on Boylston Street.

Roseann Sdoia climbed the 1,576 steps to the top of the Empire State Building Wednesday, with Boston firefighter and fiancee Mike Materia at her side — they finished together in 58 minutes, 44 seconds. They were participating in the annual Empire State Building Run-Up, raising funds for the Challenged Athletes Foundation, which has assisted Sdoia and others injured in the Marathon bombings.

In 2013, with one leg severely damaged in the finish-line blast, Sdoia was taken to the hospital by Materia.

Even as she lay recovering in her hospital bed, Sdoia told the New York Post this week that her matchmaker mother tried to set them up.

“She was like, ‘Oh, did you see that firefighter? He’s so cute.’ And I was like, ‘Mom, I just got blown up,'" she told the Post.

Sdoia told the New York Times that their affection grew for months before blossoming into romance as she embarked on her road to recovery.

In December 2016, they got engaged.

To condition herself for the charity climb up the Empire State Building's thousand-plus steps, Sdoia practiced on the Bunker Hill Monument's narrow, winding, 294-stair climb.

On Wednesday she made it to the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building — Materia clad in his firefighting equipment and Sdoia with her prosthetic leg.

She told the Times her climbing strategy: "Go slow and steady, and lead with the left leg."

Image via GoFundMe