Although losing a part of your body will obviously bring some unexpected challenges to your life — and it's easy to underestimate how many of them come from other people — there are many people in that situation who will tell you that it's not something that can keep your down if you're willing to fight.
And while there are no shortage of stories about individuals who have not let their differences stand in the way of greatness, we can also find that their experiences have given them some powerful perspective on what others have had to go through.
That perspective gave one man a solemn reason to dream of conquering the Boston Marathon in a year characterized by its quiet contemplation for a tragedy that occurred there almost a decade ago.