In September 2018, Charlie decided to start running again as part of a healthier lifestyle. Unfortunately, Charlie's running attempts were stopped fairly shortly after he started due to some pain in his left thigh and feet. Thinking the pain was due to flat feet, Charlie experimented with wearing various shoe inserts. The pain continued to slowly get worse. Charlie went to appointments with chiropractors and massage therapists, trying to figure out what would ease the pain. The pain became so constant, and at times excruciating, that Charlie decided it was finally time to see his doctor in January 2018. The doctor diagnosed Charlie with a quadricep muscle strain and prescribed physical therapy.
But Charlie wasn't satisfied with the diagnosis. He felt that the pain was in his bone - not in his muscle. A few days later, Charlie went to Twin Cities Orthopedics for an x-ray, which showed a mass had eroded a portion of his left femur bone. Charlie was sent home on crutches and scheduled for an MRI that evening. The MRI results determined that Charlie likely had a benign bone cyst, but the radiologist couldn't completely rule out the possibility of a telangiectatic osteosarcoma (a rare type of bone cancer that primarily affects children that often metastasizes to the lungs). We met with an orthopaedic surgeon at the University of Minnesota, who was convinced that Charlie had an aneurysmal bone cyst but would perform a biopsy during surgery for confirmation.
Charlie had surgery on February 4, 2019 to remove the mass, replace the missing section of bone with bone graft, and stabilize the bone with a metal plate and screws. Surgery went well without complications. We came home so Charlie could start his recovery and anxiously awaited the biopsy results.
The call came on February 12. The pathologist determined that mass was indeed cancerous (a telangiectatic osteosarcoma). It was certainly not the results we expected... Charlie is facing several months of chemotherapy and another leg surgery to remove more bone and muscle in his left thigh. If all goes well, treatment will complete around the end of November 2019.
We are using this CaringBridge website to keep family and friends updated on Charlie's journey to rid his body of cancer. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
Another great year alive and another clean scan. It's been 4 years, my oncologist finally caved to my pressures and said that my future looks brighter than dim and my surgeon still says my implant looks text book. 3 more scans then I'll be on the one year follow ups!
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