Ever since I was a little girl, I have been incredibly active and involved in a number of different sports. When I was 10 years old, I began to have severe knee pain. After a week of tests and scans, I was given the diagnosis of osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer most commonly found in children. I immediately started the vigorous treatment protocol of 10 weeks of chemotherapy, surgical removal of the tumor, and then 20 more weeks of chemotherapy. Shortly after beginning treatment, I was presented with three surgical options to remove the tumor from my body. Ultimately, I chose the surgery that would allow me to live as close to the active lifestyle that I lived before I was diagnosed with cancer. In June of 2012, I underwent a radical form of amputation called rotationplasty, where doctors removed the tumored portion of my leg including my knee, rotated the bottom portion 180 degrees, and reattached it to my thigh. I now wear a prosthesis on my right leg and my rotated ankle functions as my knee. After finishing treatment, I underwent rigorous physical therapy with the goal of finally returning to sports. After much hard work, I was able to play basketball, volleyball, and tennis at my school. In 7th grade, my parents encouraged me to get involved in the sport of wheelchair basketball because of the opportunities participating in adapted athletics can bring. I instantly loved the quickness and physicality of the sport. By my sophomore year of high school, I set my sights on competing at the national level, and received the opportunity to try out for Team USA. I made my first U.S. Women’s National Team at the age of 16 and have continued playing since. I have played basketball on 5 different continents in a total of 8 countries. In 2021, I traveled to Tokyo to compete in the Paralympics where we won a bronze medal. Currently, I am a graduate student at the University of Alabama. I am a member of the women’s wheelchair basketball team at Bama as well as a four-time National Collegiate Champion. I also still play for Team USA and in early September, we will be competing in Paris at the 2024 Paralympics. My journey with cancer will never be over. After receiving a life-time dose of toxic chemotherapy, I will forever live with the possibility of late health effects as a result. I also get up every morning as an amputee, with a physical reminder of what I have been through and what cancer has taken from me. At 22 years old, I am happy and living a full life, but many children have not been given the same chance. Too many kids are no longer here because the drugs have not changed in decades. Raising funds for research and for the development of new treatments is critical if we truly value saving the lives of children. Please join us in the fight!