One flash and three pops later, Jeff Bauman was on the ground.

Jeff Bauman is a Boston Marathon bombing survivor, who after losing both of his legs, tries to keep a positive attitude about his experience.

The first thing he did when he woke up in the hospital after the bombing was see his best friend. Since he had breathing tubes in his throat, he couldn’t talk. His best friend handed him a pad of paper, he wrote down “Lieutenant Dan,” and all his friend could do was laugh.

Bauman describes April 15th, 2013 as an exciting day. His girlfriend Erin Hurley was participating in the marathon so he and his friends met her at the finish line. He didn’t get to see her finish it. After seeing a suspicious looking character with a bookbag, Bauman was uneasy. He continued talking to his friends until the bomb went off. He eventually sat up, staring at both his friend Michelle’s injured leg, and down at his own.

Arriving at the hospital soon after, Bauman was put under anesthesia quickly. His time at the hospital was not spent alone, the police spent time making sketches of the man Bauman saw at the race. This eventually lead to his capture.

His friends and family visited him frequently as well, he even got to meet actor Bradley Cooper and eventually the president.

The support he received was overwhelming.

“I had a whole nation of support. I received hundreds to thousands of letters of people wanting to help,” Bauman said.

Rachel Sieracke, co-director of Special Events of University Activities Organization ran the event along with the Undergraduate Student Government and got to hang out with Bauman all day. Her favorite aspect was how normal, humble and comedic he was about not having legs.

“He really has accepted that bad things happen to people,” Sieracke said.

Bauman made multiple jokes concerning his legs, getting a lot of positive response from the crowd. Sieracke appreciated how happy his outlook on life was.

“Why live a life with no legs and sadness?” Sieracke said.

Carlos Arrendondo, a peace activist watching the race, rushed to help others around him. Bauman was one of those people.

“He saved a lot of our lives,” Bauman said. “There was a doctor from Georgia on the scene and the two of them were helping make turniquets for everyone.”

Bauman and Arrendondo are still friends, and he said that he is grateful that Arrendondo was there to put him in a wheelchair and into an ambulance.

Leah Market, the President of the University Activities Organization said she was excited to hear the story form start to finish.

“He explained it like it was a normal day, in a way that we can understand,” Market said. “I wish I could have anywhere close to his outlook on life.”

His now pregnant fiance Erin said that every day has its challeneges, but one thing stands out.

“Watching Jeff go through different struggles each day is the hardest part,” Hurley said.

Bauman tried to get her to name their future child “Ziggy” but she wasn’t having it, they are keeping the sex of the child a surprise.

He hopes to help design and improve future prostetics for other wounded people. He also has been practicing standing up without his crutches so that when the baby arrives he can hold them without a problem.

“My biggest fear right now is the baby.” Bauman said. “I have an eight month old dog and he is hard enough to keep up with, let alone a human being.”