When our family was standing at the finish line that fateful day in April 2013, we had no idea how in just one instant, our lives would be forever changed. That is the nature of trauma; it is something unexpected that puts you on a path you never anticipated. We are so grateful we landed at Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Emergency Room. The medical team there worked miracles to save our daughter Gillian’s life and limbs and put our family back together again in the midst of chaos.

When we decided that we wanted to give back to the medical heroes who helped us and all the other innocent victims that day in Boston, we learned that trauma care was an under-recognized, under-funded area. So, we established the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Fund and became a new positive force of change. To date, we have raised close to $3.9 million, funded five innovative researchers, talked about trauma issues on national and local TV, and engaged over 6,000 people around the globe to join us in our mission to transform outcomes for future trauma victims. .

This is just the beginning. We have big plans to endow the Stepping Strong programs so that they exist in perpetuity and are a lasting example of how light can emerge from darkness. We are running this year’s Boston Marathon to honor Gillian’s resilience and continue to raise the funds needed to make this vision a reality. We like to focus on the incredible kindness of the human spirit that we have experienced firsthand during these past 20 months. Your donation to the Stepping Strong Fund is another example of that goodness. Please know that you are now part of the Stepping Strong team that is transforming outcomes for future trauma victims, for all those people out there who do not yet know how their lives may change in an instant.

Thank you for joining our journey and for helping us to turn the tragedy that befell our family into hope for the future. Together, we are really making a difference.

xoxo Audrey, Steven, Danielle and Gillian

To learn more visit www.bwhsteppingstrong.org