Just six weeks after sustaining life-threatening injuries during the Boston Marathon bombing, 18-year-old Sydney Cocoran isn't quite back on her feet yet. But that didn't stop her from becoming her high school's prom queen.
And to make it even more heart-warming, the humble survivor was in complete shock when she won.
"My guidance counselor nominated me," Corcoran told WHDH News Boston. "She thought I deserved it. But just because everyone, like a lot of people voted for me... I'm kind of shocked and a little touched."
Cocoran attended the prom on crutches with her date and a group of good friends. It was the first time she had been reunited with her classmates since the bombing.
"When I was in the hospital, I didn't think [prom] was going to be possible... I got to the rehab and, because I was up and I was doing stuff, it felt more like I could do it. It was a goal," Cocoran said on the Today show.
Cocoran's mother, another bombing victim who is still recovering in the hospital, insisted on helping her daughter get ready for the prom.
"[My mom] still wanted to help out and she was determined to, so she made sure that she did my toes," Corcoran said.
Cocoran first made headlines when a photograph of two men treating her leg on the sidelines of the race appeared on the cover of The Boston Globe and The New York Times. She and her family had been at the finish line to watch her aunt run when the blasts went off. After being separated from her family and nearly bleeding to death on the sidewalk, Cocoran was finally reunited with her mother in the hospital, who had both legs amputated.
Sources:
Today News and
WHDH Boston.