Boston Marathon Victim Shows Off Prosthetic, With Heels

Heather Abbott rarely wore flats before she became one of the many people to lose a leg in the Boston Marathon bombings. She calls herself a "professional heel-wearer" and preferred heels that reached the towering height of 4 inches. Today, she showed off a new prosthetic that will help her reclaim a little bit of her personal style: a "high-definition" realistic silicone leg that can be worn with high heels. To showcase it, she broke out a pair of black leather Nine West shoes with peep-toed 4-inch spiked heels that displayed painted red nails on both feet.

Abbott, 38, of Newport, was going in to the Forum restaurant in Boston with friends on April 15 when one of two bombs went off a short distance away. Her left leg was badly hurt, and she had to make the difficult decision to amputate it below the knee. Abbott got the high-heeled prosthetic about a week ago from Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics of New Hampshire. Next Step built the interior of the prosthetic; the shape is a mirror image of Abbott's right leg and foot. The silicone cover was constructed by the British company Dorset, which matched the color to Abbott's skin and added details such as freckles. "I can't believe how much it looks like a real foot," she says. (More Boston Marathon bombing stories.)