Boulder – She spent more than three months in the hospital, underwent 14 surgeries that included removal of half of her pelvis and still endures adjustments to a prosthetic leg.
But 13 months after she lost her leg in a prom-night limousine accident, 18-year-old Molly Bloom is able to look ahead.
“I had a lot of trouble seeing my life after my accident,” she said Friday. “But with experience, just doing what I thought I couldn’t do … it’s getting easier.”
Her “to do” list has included: skiing, dancing, driving herself (with a specially fitted prosthetic leg), walking around the University of Colorado at Boulder campus, and, perhaps most happily, swimming again.
She plans to swim competitively.
“I’m going to swim with the relay team that swam without me last year,” she said of the East High squad on which she helped win three state titles.
She is taking a summer class in psychology at CU-Boulder but is unsure about her ultimate field of study.
Despite dark days – her prosthetic device extends up into her ribs and makes breathing difficult – Bloom has kept her spirit.
“I’ve decided I look even better with one leg,” she informed her sister, Katy Casper, the first time she saw her full-length image after the accident.
Molly Bloom and her family have remained private during her months of recovery. Friday’s announcement that the suit against the limousine company and driver had been settled was her first news conference since she was dragged about 40 feet when the Hummer stretch limousine drove away as Bloom tried to get in.
The only reason Bloom is speaking now is to let the public know that Casper, with help from friends, is launching a foundation to raise money for injured and disabled athletes as eager as her sister to get back into sports.
It’s called “Bloom Again: The Molly Bloom Foundation.” A website is in the works.
Casper said the family wanted to take all the goodwill, positive energy and warm wishes sent their way during Bloom’s recovery and direct that force toward helping others.
While the foundation is still in the formative stages, it is planning a major event in July – a swimapoolooza. It will be a 24-hour marathon swim at Skyline Acres, said Bernadine Bloom, Molly’s mother.
“I’m the spokesperson,” Molly Bloom said. “I’m glad something good can happen from such a terrible tragedy.”
Staff writer Electa Draper can be reached at 303-954-1276 or edraper@denverpost.com.
