Boston Strong: Tacoma amputee finishes Boston Marathon

The inspirational story of former soldier Edward Lychik added another unbelievable chapter after the amputee we first introduced you to last week successfully completed the Boston Marathon Monday.

“Imagine half a million people out there cheering you on. It was so amazing, you know just the energy of the city of Boston. It was inspiring,” the Puyallup-native told KIRO Radio’s Ron and Don Show following the race.

Lychik, who now lives in Tacoma, was a combat engineer assigned to a Stryker brigade from Fort Wainwright, Alaska, when he was critically wounded in Afghanistan on his 21st birthday.

Doctors had to amputate his left leg at the hip socket, and told him if he ever even walked again, he would need crutches. Running was out of the question. Needless to say, he ignored the experts.

“I couldn’t take that as an answer, you know I just turned 21-years-old,” he said last week.

To help him walk again, specialists had to invent parts for a prosthetic leg that is anchored by a belt around his waist.

Lychik proved the experts wrong, learning to walk first with crutches, then tossing them aside and walking without any assistance.

“Once I finally didn’t need my crutches I just tossed them as far as I could and was just like ‘in your face,'” he said.

He learned to run, and although he’s done several races over the past year, Boston was the ultimate test. He set his sights on the ultimate marathon after learning of a team running in honor of an 8-year-old boy killed in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

It was tough, but the first 18 miles were relatively uneventful, Lychik said.

“When I hit mile 19 I had something with my prosthetic, it was chafing my hip and I had a few issues with my foot,” he said. But even when things got tough, the thought of slowing down or even quitting never crossed his mind.

“I had like this list in my mind of all the people, who ever supported me, I was going out there and I was doing it for them. I didn’t want to make this marathon about me. I wanted really to inspire a lot of people and share my story.”

There were plenty of highlights during the race. But meeting ultra-marathon runner Dean Karnazes early in the race and taking a picture with him, then having Karnazes cheer him on at the end of the race is a memory he’ll never forget.

“I was like ‘aaah, this is so cool’ and I just started sprinting and it was such a big boost. None of my aches, I didn’t even notice them. It was so cool,” he said. “It’s like the Super Bowl. It was an experience that I can’t compare to anything else.”

Lychik hopes his journey inspires others, whether able-bodied or not.

“Our life is a marathon and it’s going on right now,” he said. “A lot of people quit a few miles before the finish line. It’s at those points you’ve gotta dig really deep down and really try to find something within your heart.”

On a glorious Monday in Boston, Lychik showed anything is possible.