Years ago, doctors at Boston Children’s Hospital were helping one young patient fight cancer. Today, that same patient is competing on the world stage as a Paralympian.
It’s the ultimate example of resilience and determination.
Eighteen-year-old Jack Berry has survived both bone and lung cancer, and now he’s showing off his skills in nordic skiing on the slopes in Milan.
At 10 years old, Berry was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer, above his knee and underwent rotationplasty surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital to have the cancerous segment of bone removed.
“Rotationplasty is essentially an amputation of the middle of the limb,” explained Dr. Megan Anderson, a surgical oncologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. “You keep all the muscles of the lower leg intact. And then you basically ask the ankle to become the knee.”
With a rotationplasty, the prosthetic doesn’t have to include the knee joint, which allows the patient to maintain a very active lifestyle.
“He’s really the poster child for rotationplasty and high level of athletics,” Anderson said of Berry.
Berry took a gap year to train for the Paralympics and spoke about his goals in an interview last year.
“The range of physical activities I’m able to do have been unlimited so far,” he said at the time. “It still feels like a pipe dream to me to medal at the Paralympics, but I would be thrilled and I think that would be kind of like the pinnacle. I’d feel content with where I’m at athletically if I medaled at the Paralympics.”
Medal or not, his Boston Children’s family couldn’t be more proud. They hosted a viewing party Tuesday to watch Berry compete in cross-country sprint classic. You can also catch Berry competing Wednesday in the 10k and Friday in the relay.