and here to lend support and praise for a safer world. i want to thank you so much for being with us today on cnn and thanks for all the well wishes to us. we appreciate it. "newsroom" will continue in about half an hour. it is time i said good-bye and thank you so much for joining us. hey, there. i want to begin with the latest on the boston bombings. much of the attention has turned to the surviving suspect and thursday he was moved out of the hospital and in to a jail facility. but you know, we don't want to forget the people hurt that day. at least a dozen of the victims had limbs amputated. we'll get a sense of their new normal. i paid a visit to one of the best facilities in the country. kesler institute for rehabilitation. it takes time. about six weeks postsurgery for

a new amputate to take this first step. one of the most important things is that this wound around the amputation has to heal up completely. this incision line over here. and after that's done, they have to shape the remaining area of the leg and then actually autosomething on to sort of shrink the tissues. every patient that's suffering an amputation goes through tailored therapy to learn how to use their new limbs. peter coolidge who lost his leg due to complications of diabetes had his prosthetic leg less than two weeks. signs of progress. one hand. two hands before that. let's show you something else and take a look. when you actually look specifically what's happening with the feet over here, stepping up with the good leg and look what's happening with the prosthetic. you get the sort of expected --

what you want, the heel and toe rock. that's something pete has to practice. surprisingly, every day tasks like making coffee, it's part of therapy, as well. he's not holding on to anything right now and able to keep his balance. distracted not thinking about that and balance that he's testing and successfully testing by actually moving around the kitchen here. so he's never done this before. i mean, take a look. an uneven surface. got to essentially bend the knees. harder than it looks for someone with a brand new prosthetic device. pretty good, pete. first month of therapy is all about the basics for lower limb amputees. taking the first steps to learn to live independently. some people say, look, this is going to be a sort of new normal for these patients. but you say actually more of

just normal. >> once they look back on this situation, you know, a year from now, two years from now, you know, that's, yes, this will be a nightmare and, yes, there's a loss that's permanent. but they have every reason to expect that they're going to be able to go on and live the same happy satsz if ied lives. >> in fact, thanks to advanced prosthetic life, most go on to live not only a normal life but to push themselves beyond previous expectations. >> the future is really much brighter than they could probably imagine at this point in time but for the people in boston they will have that experience. now, you know, if there's one person to know about that road that lies ahead it's hue herr. he is an athlete turned inventer at m.i.t. and he builds some of

the most advanced prosthetics in the world. he knows the way of the modern technology to help the patients and he knows this in part because he's done it himself. >> my name is hugh herr. i'm a professor at m.i.t. we develop robots that attach to the body. >> here at m.i.t. hugh herr develops advanced prosthetic limbs. rehab medicine, no one has done more to bring the future to the here and now. as you can see, hugh has a personal stake in this world. back when he was a kid, all he wanted to do was climb mountains. >> by the age of 12, 13, i was considered a child prodigy in climbing. i was climbing walls that had never been climbed before. >> but then at age 17 -- >> in 1982 i was mountain

climbing and we got struck by a tremendous blizzard. and what we intended to be a single day outing was a four-day. i suffered severe frostbite to my lower limbs and after months of effort, my medical team gave up the fight to save the biological limbs. >> it is a deeply personal quest for you, as well. >> yeah. it's funny. i was a terrible high school student. at best i got cs. i often got fs. and then my accident happened when i was 17 and just inspired me to begin to develop prosthetic limbs for myself and for other people. >> losing both legs, it's a lot for anyone to overcome. but with hugh, it lit a fire. >> whenever i sprint up stairs with my bionic legs, at the top i giggle. i mean, i'm -- i grew up with

the television show "the bionic man and woman," "$6 million man" and when i hear the motors going -- it's hysterical. >> one of the first designs -- adjustable legs. so he could do things on the mountain that used to be impossible. at m.i.t. this is how he and his team like to work. first, they break down a real human movement. then find a way to copy it with better and better machinery. his latest creation is a bionic ankle. >> the human ankle is a turbo charged. it gives so much energy as you're walking and running and conventional prosthesis lack that. i wanted an invention to propel the amputee forward and walk with less energy and less pain. >> he introduced shawn brown who

lost a foot in an industrial accident 20 years ago. >> his gait is normal. it's normal. >> hugh sayss is primitive. compared to what we'll see in years to come. >> i'm often asked would i wish the legs back. i say absolutely not. the bionic legs are part of my creation. they have become part of my identity. as the biological body ages, my artificial limbs get better and better. they're in a sense immortal. >> i'll tell you, hugh is -- set up a website to donate to the nonprofit. donations that could help the amputees and ride bikes again, dance, swim, whatever it is they're hoping to do. also coming up, a woman that was hurt in the bombing explains the last-minute decision that probably saved her life. stay with us. i have low testosterone. there, i said it.

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there near that marathon finish line. adrian, she was a few steps from that second bomb. and then it was an explosion in her case that ripped off her foot. she lost a lot of flood and quick thinking clearly saved her life and told anderson cooper what happened right after the bomb went off. >> how far away was the bomb? do you know? >> my guess it was five feet. >> five feet? >> yeah. we're lucky to be alive. >> did you lose consciousness? >> i don't think we did. >> no. >> i remember everything so if we did, it was for a matter of seconds. >> you remember being blown through the air? >> yeah. >> what happened then? >> i landed and sort of closed my eyes and was underneath adam and covering my head and my face. it was very gray and quiet. gray smoke and ashes and a lot

of debris falling, and i remember telling adam, oh my gosh, i'm alive. he said, i'm okay. i'm okay. are you okay? oh my gosh, are you okay? >> i said i think we're okay. i couldn't believe that we survived and we weren't hurt at all and i didn't feel any pain. i had no idea what was -- what had happened. and then, i sat up and i tried to -- he said, we have to get out of here or something like that. i tried to move and i said, oh my gosh, my foot. we just lost it. adam was -- had a lot of blood all over his pants. it was hard to tell his injuries and my injuries because of the amount of blood everywhere. but i know he was hurt, as well. >> what did you do then when you realized what had happened to your foot? >> went in to survival mode. i have to do something about this. i can't lose my foot. >> that was in your mind? >> yeah.

i can't lose my foot. i have to get it somewhere safe and clean and i've got to get something wrapped and it. i grabbed the door and crawled in to forum and asked a couple of people for help and finally received it. got a couple people to do a tourniquet. i was on i have to get somewhere clean. i'm losing so much blood. >> what did you do? >> i followed behind her. she jump kicked me, too. we have to get somewhere to lay down smarter, where we could get a tourniquet around her leg. start doing little basic, like, shock triage stuff, yeah. so we crawled in to forum and from there it was -- i remember her legs were over mine. i had one belt and another guy with another belt and we were just -- just as much as i could

and leaning back and trying to put as much pressure with the belt. >> when did you realize the full extent of the injury? >> i think when we were sitting there in forum and adam and i kept looking at each other and we were bouncing between trying to do the tourniquet faster and it might be our last minutes together and i'm so sorry for everything that's ever happened and hard not to get emotional thinking about it but we were tied between safety and helping each other and helping his injuries, also. and saying what we needed to say to each other. >> in case you didn't make it. >> in case we didn't make it, why. >> tying the tourniquets on the scene, that probably saved you. >> probably did. i'm thankful for adam for helping. >> when did you realize? >> i was -- i woke up and my parents were there and hugged them and kissed them and said, can you help me?

i feel like my foot is asleep and my ankle is falling off of the pillow and my foot is half on. and i realized that now that was phantom pain. she said, you don't have a foot. your foot is gone. and i just lost it. really hard to hear. >> you're determined to dance again, though. >> i am. >> dancing is really important to you. >> so important to me. it's my life. >> you know, so many people inspired by her determination to dance again as you heard there. they have set up a fund to help with that recovery and already raised more than $200,000. coming up now, the former head of the cdc turned medical reporter colleague in a way. he is from abc news. he stops by next. hey! did you know that honey nut cheerios

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the doctor to meet has a unique perspective on the headlines. a short while ago i talked to dr. besser for abc news and before that, acting director of the cdc and now written "tell me the truth, doctor." you're the chief medical correspondent for abc but you were the acting director of the cdc i think the first time we started to talk to one another. >> we talked a lot in those days. >> yeah. you probably get a lot of questions about infectious disease still. i think one of the first things we talked a lot about was h1n1 and curious about your perspective of recent outbreaks. how concerned do you get, how

concerned should we all be about what's happening now? >> i think the public health community has to be very concerned and pay attention to this. this virus, called a bird flu virus and having trouble finding in it a lot of birds. that's worrisome. when i talked to people at cdc, they see changes in this virus which put it on the path to being able to go person to person and as you know that's what you worry about for a strain with pandemic potential so i'm glad they're jumping on this, glad cdc is working on vaccines and diagnostic kits because you never know which virus makes that turn and become very dangerous and which one is just going to go away. >> things can be lethal, they can kill people easily. trance missible is the other thing where they spread from person to person and worries you the most? >> yeah. not having any community in the population. so if it's -- if it's a new strain that people haven't seen before, you run the risk of introducing it to spread like wild fire and that's what you

worry about. it's transmissible. that's the big concern. >> people paying attention to this should really keep that you are ears open for if we hear that the transmissability -- >> that's right. people now, in america, no. but traveler who is are going to china? yeah. they have to pay attention and doctors need to ask about travel. if someone's sick, wrfb you been? >> are you still surprised by things? the medicine is a constantly evolving field. like we said, we are always doing our homework. things change. >> yeah. >> advice changes as a result. how much does that affect how you report, how you practice? >> one thing i try to communicate, you want to see a change in recommendation. you know, it's one of the things during h1n1, the recommendations to protect people's health changed. that's true with medicine across the board. >> you talk about a couple of issues which, you know, again as medical reporters, we talk about all the time. but cell phones and brain cancer

specifically. do you really think it could be a problem? may not just to recognize it yet. >> i don't think so. you know? i think that the data i see so far makes me feel pretty comfortable that cell phones do not cause cancer. but there are simple things to do if you're concerned. you know? my kids, they say they're talking to friends but when they say talking they mean texting and so that's not putting a cell phone up next to their head and encouraging that. speakerphone is another way to go. it's important to continue to study children. this is the first generation that's grown up with cell phones. but the real concern i have with cell phones is cell phones in cars and i wish there was as much concern expressed about. you know, the data show that using a cell phone in the car equivalent to driving drunk and it's a hard thing to do but locking it in the glove compartment can remove the temptation and can remove a really -- a real public health

risk. >> i don't know if you've seen the apps over a certain speed, it disables the cell phone. >> i love that. >> can't text and a message back saying dr. besser is driving right now and will call you back. you had to deal with us pesky reporters as director of the cdc, what do you think about it now getting the questions answered now? >> it's pretty wild. i spend a lot of time talking to public health people about what an incredible opportunity it is any time a reporter calls. that it's a chance to get a message out. every day public health is trying to launch campaigns and as reporters we're not interested unless it's tied to the news. well, if we're calling because there's a news hook, that should be in a sense a public health emergency of now's a chance to get that message out there and i hit the same, you know, roadblocks that i used to put up on the other side. it's interesting. >> dr. richard besser "tell me

the truth, doctor." he points out in part medicine is always changing pretty quickly and with that in mind, we're kicking off a new series on the show today. i'm going to be introducing you to medical innovators to talk about their life's work, men and women who drive the change. probably not going to recognize every face but you will recognize what they have all done. our very first profile is dr. vincent gott cardiac surgeon and performed the first open-heart surgery on a living heart. >> looking back, i would say that i was one of the luckiest young boys to come out of wichita, kansas. my name is vincent gott and i was one of the first researchers in to the development of a pacemaker. i was in the operating room at

the time the world's first open-heart operation was carried out in 1954. i was an intern when i observed the doctors carry out the first cross circulation case. i made an illustration of that first operation. at least of the defect in the little boy's heart. put it in the patient's chart. little did i know -- they didn't know me and but seeing that illustration he invited me in to his lab and that's when the pacemaker was developed and just a great opportunity for me. it was an amazing time and an amazing procedure but i had no idea where it would take us over the next 60 years. well, i spent my life doing cardiac surgery. and how fortunate i was to have been there on day one as an observer. >> we got a check of the top

stories right away and then more on the boston mare than bombings, as well. ♪ [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ge has wired their medical hardware with innovative software to be in many places at the same time. using data to connect patients to software, to nurses to the right people and machines. ♪ helping hospitals treat people even better, while dramatically reducing waiting time. now a waiting room is just a room.

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cover of "boston" magazine this week and says so much. take a look. pairs an pairs of running shoes worn by runners of the boston marathon and these brightly colored shoes make almost a joyous picture.

overcoming obstacles and challenging themselves and, you know, i have worn shoes like these and i remember transporting me to a place where i can be alone with my thoughts and my dreams, it's a special place. this week we salute the courage, the conviction, the compassion of the bostonians who continue to support one another chasing life. that's going to do it for us. time if a check of the top stories making news right now. charged, a mississippi man under arrest for sending ric ricin-laced letters to president obama and others. discovered a possible piece of a plane that crashed in to the world trade center. clues in the boston marathon. digging through a landfill look frg a laps do top. looking more about the social media life of dzhokhar tsarnaev. mourning the victims today