my blog reflects parts of my “silver lining” spirit through the worst of it. I hope it will help you find the silver lining in your struggles.

Parosteal Osteosarcoma is a slow-growing bone cancer that is typically low grade and therefore does not respond to the most common treatments for cancer. It does, however, need to be removed as it tends to travel to the lungs or can turn into a much more aggressive osteosarcoma rapidly. One month later my surgeon performed limb salvage surgery which consisted of a total knee and distal femur replacement. There was so much metal in my leg I felt like a robot. Little did I know, years later I would be preparing to receive actual robot-like parts to walk again. My first surgery gave me five more years with my leg. Good days which were hiking in Malibu and bike rides through Winter Park, Marrying, the previously mentioned best man on earth in Paris while wearing bright pink, Kate Spade heels on both of my feet. There were also bad days where I couldn’t get out of bed without excruciating pain. I was thankful for all of it. The good and bad, because my leg and my life as I knew it had been saved. Fast forward to October 2019, some worrisome swelling in my leg lead to a biopsy that confirmed my cancer was back. The CT showed a tumor that was growing up from the remaining bone in my tibia and somehow wrapped around the metal that now replaced my knee. It was pushing up against blood vessels. All of the specialist I saw said. “We have to take the leg above the knee to save your life.” They used the expression “life over limb”. How had this expression become my literal reality? Life is funny that way… Here I am, one leg less but there is nothing less about me.

 Oh Hey!

I’m alex

and I became an amputee in 2019. 7 Years ago, I was newly engaged to the best man on earth and had just moved to Orlando from Gainesville, FL for a new job, which meant endless more fun things to do and a new city to discover. While I was busy living my best life, an ache in my right knee lead me to visit an orthopedic center for a standard x-ray. I was used to aches from years of gymnastics and cheerleading and thought the biopsy they recommended would tell me there was a benign growth from the damage I caused my knees years ago. Two weeks later, my doctor said the results were malignant. He quickly followed up with the words “ but you won’t need chemo or radiation” that was a relief, I would not have to suffer through the toxic effects of these drastic treatments but the reality is that I would not need those treatments, because they could not cure me.

Don’t hold yourself back from living your life. Get out there and let your residual limb get some sunshine.