Valeria’s Radiothon Story

Valeria and her parents wintertime successful El Salvador, and that’s wherever they were extremity of January past twelvemonth erstwhile she began complaining that her limb hurt. When the symptom persisted, they visited a doc who did an ultrasound that recovered immoderate swelling successful her knee. She did immoderate physio and successful March, aft a fall, she went to spot a antithetic pediatrician. During the exam, the doc recovered she a lump successful her limb and sent her for an x-ray. The scan revealed not lone did she fracture her limb from the fall, but determination was a tumour successful her femur.

Valeria had to beryllium admitted to the section children’s infirmary determination for a biopsy and had to hold 2 weeks for the result. During their agonizing wait, successful a rundown infirmary with small, crowded rooms, Christina couldn’t assistance worrying it was crab but thought if the results did travel backmost that way, she and Valeria would beryllium connected the adjacent formation home. The diagnosis came back: osteosarcoma and the doctors determination suggested amputation. Instead, they requested to beryllium discharged, and successful the car en way backmost to her family’s home, Christina booked flights to Calgary. Her girl was successful truthful overmuch pain, she made definite to publication a archetypal people spot to marque her much comfortable.

They were admitted to the Alberta Children’s Hospital, wherever Valeria met with her oncology squad and started her connected chemotherapy. The chemo was unsmooth connected her assemblage and made her suffer her hair. Her squad said the adjacent people of enactment would beryllium country and told her the options. She could person her limb amputated, a metallic rod enactment successful spot of her femur, or, a rotationplasty, successful which the bottommost of the femur, the knee, and the precocious tibia are surgically removed. The little limb is past rotated 180 degrees and past attached to the femur. Christina appreciated however Valeria was portion of the determination process, made easier with videos and accusation from her squad to assistance hole her. Together they chose the rotationplasty enactment and successful June, she went into the OR, with a large grin connected her face. As Valeria told her mom, “I was blessed due to the fact that I would yet beryllium capable to get escaped of the tumour and would beryllium person to beryllium walking again.” While Plastic Surgeons Dr. Harrop and Dr. Cawthorne on with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kendall performed the surgery, the household were grateful to beryllium capable to hold successful the quiescent and comfortableness of the Colonel Sanders Family Room astatine the hospital. Valeria is successful the process of being fitted for a prosthetic and is looking guardant to walking and doing gymnastics again! She continues to beryllium followed by her squad of specialists.

Christina doesn’t person capable words to explicit her gratitude for everyone astatine the infirmary who was portion of her daughter’s attraction team, for however they treated her similar a personage and supported the full family. Valeria tin amusement you however agelong her Beads of Courage is, a practice of her inspiring journey.