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Tyler's Prosthetic Leg Fund

Hi, my name is Tyler Smith.  I was diagnosed just over a month before my 19th birthday with Osterosarcoma Cancer in my lower left calf.  This is the same type of Cancer that Terry Fox was diagnosed with.

This was very hard to hear that at 19 your active life was about to change.  I was currently working at 2 different jobs, and working 7 days a week.  I was also currently ready to start my last year of House League baseball for Gage Park Softball, where I had played House League ball and Rep ball for the past 5 years.  I have also been an assisted coach for my sisters team for the last 3 years.

I was told that I would have 6 treaments of Chemotherapy, then surgery and most likely a couple more rounds of Chemotherapy to remove the Cancer from my leg.

I was so sick and dehydrated throughout my first 5 Chemo treatments that I  was rushed on 3 different occasions back to the hospital via ambulance.  After my 5th Chemo treatment I was rushed back to the emergency department as I had blacked out and my heart rate and blood pressure were not stable.  I was so dehydrated from the Chemo treatment, that I was hooked up to a constant hydration IV drip and spent the next 5 days in the hospital.

During my stay at the hospital my Chemo doctor decided that he would cancel my 6th Chemo treatment and have my surgery moved up.

My surgey was now tentatively scheduled for August 18, 2017.  I now needed to complete all the required tests before my surgery date.  I needed a bone scan of my complete body, multiple X-rays of my left leg and CT-scan of my whole left leg.  These tests were to allow the surgeon a better look at how the Cancer had responded to all the Chemo treatments were done.

We received a call from the surgeon that my surgey date was being moved out to August 25,2017 and that I needed to see him to discuss the results of the tests.  I knew that this could not be good news.

My parents and I went to see the surgeon on August 17, 2017 to discuss the results of the tests.  We found out that the Cancer has actually spread throughtout my lower left leg, from just below the knee downwards.  The Chemo treatments did not kill the Cancer. 

The surgeon told us that he was not able to do the original type of surgery as he was afraid that the Cancer would actually spread to other parts of my body.  His recommended surgery now was an above the knee amputation.

This was a hard decision to make, but having the amputation was the best answer to removing the Cancer.

This fund is going towards the purchase of a prosthetic leg, so that I can return back to as much of my normal life as possible before I was diagnosed with Cancer.

There are different types of prosthetic legs required for doing different types of activities.  There is a prosthetic leg designed just for swimming/showering, running, and climbing/hiking just to mention a few.
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Donations 

  • Nancy Billard
    • $25 
    • 6 yrs
  • Leah Megan and Logan Hatch
    • $45 (Offline)
    • 6 yrs
  • Darlene and Micheal Cojocari
    • $100 (Offline)
    • 6 yrs
  • Mr & Mrs Zomer
    • $1,000 (Offline)
    • 6 yrs
  • Lynda (Quilting)
    • $50 (Offline)
    • 6 yrs
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Organizer

Tyler Smith
Organizer
Stoney Creek, ON

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