Orthopaedic Surgeon: Benjamin Miller, MD, MS, FAAOS
Hospital: University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Being diagnosed with an osteosarcoma in June of 2019 was certainly one of those things I didn't expect to hear beginning my sophmore summer of high school. Those words are tough for anyone to handle, expecially for a 17-year-old excited for his summer of travel, sports, and memories made with friends and family. I personally don't think I would be in the position I am today without the help of Dr. Ben Miller and Jill Kain. They know firsthand how daunting it all may seem, and yet treated me like every checkup was just a normal one. Having those two by my side along with my friends and family helped push me to goals that I never thought I could achieve.
Almost any kid loves to move around, play sports, and in other words not sit around all day. The absolute toughest part of my journey was the amount of sitting around all day. I went from playing tennis six hours a day to sometimes not even being awake for six hours a day. During these seemingly countless hours spent sitting around, I was able to think about what I wanted to do with my life. This is what I think was truly the most beneficial thing that was done during my journey. I figured out that I wasn't okay with this life, and I was tired of people saying that I may never do this or do that. Hearing things like that changed my entire life for the better. These things challenged me to push myself into who I am today. I worked for hours and hours in the gym along with hundreds of days in physical therapy.
I knew that all my hard work had paid off when I won the tennis state championship with my team in 2021. Everyone had always said that after surgery tennis wasn't a real option, and to everyone's surprise I finished out my senior year playing in every single meet. Looking back on my diagnosis, I wouldn't change anything to be different. The lessons I learned and the people that I met will stay with me forever and I wouldn't change it for the world.
AAOS and MSTS Care About Sarcoma Patients
The AAOS Registry Program has developed the Musculoskeletal Tumor Registry (MsTR) with support from the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS), and this July, and throughout the year, the work that occurs through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of Registry data supports the improvement of sarcoma patient care.
For more information about this Registry, visit www.aaos.org/registries/MsTR
To make a donation, visit here.