Boston bombing victim: I'm one of the lucky ones

(CBS News) The bombings at the Boston Marathon changed many lives in an instant.

Ryan McMahon was sitting with her friends in the grandstand at the finish line of this year's marathon, cheering on the runners and capturing it all on video and in pictures.

"I've gone to the marathon since I was little with my family and everything," said McMahon. "This year I just kind of wanted to enjoy it and just kind of watch it."

Then a joyous event turned into a scary scene.

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"You almost think you're stupid for thinking it could be a bomb or something like that," said McMahon. "The second blast went off, and that's just kind of when I, I was just like oh my God. We all kind of panicked. Everyone was starting to run to get to the bottom of the bleachers."

Out of desperation, McMahon and her friends jumped down from the bleachers, but she lost her grip and fell flat on her back.

"I remember feeling so much pain here and on my back and just being like, we have to just get out of here," she said.

Injured, hurt and confused, McMahon managed to hail a taxi and get to the nearest hospital. She found out she broke both her wrists and fractured her back. Yet, even with her injuries, she remains positive.

"It's painful, but I constantly just think of the big picture and how lucky I am," she said.

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When she was able to, she called her parents. Her father said that call was the first he had heard of the explosions.

McMahon's father, John, lives 90 miles away in western Massachusetts. He didn't know what to expect when he got to the hospital.

"She'd broken her arms and her back, but she wasn't disfigured, and so we were very relieved to find her again and just to hold her and embrace her," he said.

McMahon is certainly lucky, but her pain goes beyond physical injuries.

"It's a mix of emotions. I'll be angry, I'll be sad, I'll just not understand the whole situation and want to understand it and feel like I want to have control of, you know, understand it, I guess, but I know I can't," said McMahon. "I'm going to still be the same person, just my perspective has just changed a bit. I just appreciate things, sometimes more. My friends and family, I love them so much. And I plan to, you know, not be stopped by this."

Ryan has several weeks of recovery ahead of her, but she plans to run the marathon next year along with her dad.

For Don Dahler's full report, watch the video in the player above.