Donning the race jacket and clutching her medal, Sediva tells a familiar Boston Marathon story.
"It was so overwhelming. When I first started running the race, it was unbelievable," Sediva described.
But then the unthinkable happened when Sediva was just a half mile from the finish line.
"I see all these people, and they've stopped everybody. I didn't know what was going on at first," she recalled.
Her pre-race excitement turned to confusion and worry. It was an hour and a half before she was reunited with family members who were waiting near the finish line. Sediva says her stepmother, sister and sister's daughter were there. She remembers how her 11-year-old niece hugged her and didn't want to let go.
Sediva's family members were extra emotional, because while the 117th Boston Marathon tells a frightening story, it doesn't tell Sediva's entire story.
The 46-year-old has tunnel vision and is legally blind. She describes it as constantly looking through a paper towel roll - and not being able to see around it.
Sediva wears a sign on her shorts to alert other runners of her vision. She ran her first marathon 20 years ago, and last April she finished the Dallas Marathon in 3 hours and 55 minutes, coming in first in her age group and qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
Sediva is also competing in the Orange County Marathon. If all goes as planned, her time will qualify her for next year's Boston Marathon.
Yes, she has a medal, but her Boston story has one unwritten chapter.
"The biggest thing is crossing that finish line. I just want to be there, have them put the medal over my neck right when I get to crossing the finish line," she said.
