APRIL 2018 20 | {transformation tuesday} CAREY ’ S CORNER Twelve seconds changed her life. Elena Breese’s husband was running the Boston Marathon in 2013 when the first of two bombs exploded. “I was standing in the bleachers right across the street from where the bombs went off,” Breese said. “I have to say, it was a beautiful day in Boston. Sunny, warm, the city was alive. It was celebratory.” And then, “the worst of humanity took over right before my eyes. I had a front row seat to the terror that day.” It has been a long, painful road to healing for this Arizonan ever since. “It all happened so fast, it’s hard to slow down those moments in my mind. It’s like being faced with hell, seeing the suffering happening right in front of me.” Breese hadn’t spoken publicly and in-depth about the marathon for years. Then she decided to sit down and share her story on my podcast, Transformation Tuesday. Over the years, I have interviewed hundreds of people who have suffered tragedy. I cried while sitting with the parents of the Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in an out-of-control wildfire. I prayed with parents forced to say goodbye to children suffering from cancer. I’ve covered drownings, murders, natural disasters and deadly disease. I never looked at my role as a journalist as someone who should stay removed. To me, every story is about a human being — I want to feel what they feel in order to do justice to their story. The one commonality in all of these stories is the incredible resilience of the human spirit. I was always intrigued by what happens next. After the tragedy. How do you go on? For Elena Breese, the journey to become whole again after witnessing such an atrocity was excruciating. After the bombing, Breese suffered from debilitating anxiety and stress. Doctors told her she had PTSD. She ended up checking herself into a hospital where she spent six days and, according to Breese, left “sicker than when she went in.” It motivated her to advocate for herself. To do this, she had to confront the pain of what she witnessed and figure out how she could move on. Carey Peña | CONTRIBUTING WRITER RACING FORWARD

APRIL 2018 | 21 HEALING HURTS. AND IT TAKES A LOT OF TIME AND IT TAKES YOU BEING WILLING TO BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF AND LISTEN TO YOURSELF AND GO THROUGH YOUR EMOTIONS. Top: Elena Breese and her husband, Jeff. Bottom: Elena Breese and her father meet Maria Shriver at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix.