How Waving A Sign Helped Save A Life

Last week, following the horror of the Boston Marathon bombings, we wrote up a first-person account of what it was like to be there from the Castaldo family of Madison. 

The Castaldos went to the marathon as spectators, with a huge sign, to root on a doctor who helped save the life of a family member. The doctor and his daughter-in-law were running in the marathon. The Castaldos knew that their doctor friend made it through the finish line without being hurt, but weren't sure about his daughter-in-law. She stopped to say hello, then ran by their position around the corner from the finish line ... right before the bombs went off. 

They were worried she might have been hurt.  

We heard back from Mark Castaldo today. They got a note from Dr. Crawford over the weekend. Here's the rest of that story:

"He stated that his daughter-in-law credits our sign and the fact that she stopped to say hello to us in saving her life," Mark wrote us. "She was a few hundred yards from the finish line when the bombs went off and if she had not stopped she would have been right at the finish line and feels may have been killed or badly injured." 

Dr. Crawford went out to dinner that evening with his daughter-in-law. They ran into another runner who had finished the race and got to see his medal. 

"She asked if she could see it and proceeded to tell him her story and how she was stopped a few hundred yards away," Mark Castaldo said. 

"He told her to keep it. He said that he had run the marathon a few times, had others and wanted her to have this one. Nice ending to a very bad day… "