Kim Sale
Kim was only 13 when she was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. She had been experiencing a pain in her calf area every time she would walk to school.
On 27 April 2015 it was so bad that her calf had swollen and become very red. The school contacted her Mum and advised that she should be taken to A&E as ‘they had never seen anything like it’. At first they thought it was a sports injury, as Kim is a very sporty person, and it was put down to being a torn calf muscle but, when she then began to develop sweats over the next few days - an ultrasound was carried out whereby it revealed a much more serious issue. Kim had a tumour in her calf muscle.
"I am walking freely and confidently, keeping myself active just like I used to and doing things a teenager does! Having fun!"
"This was confirmed by an MRI on 13 May 2015 and I started chemo on 11 June 2015. Six rounds of chemo before surgery was the protocol, then surgery, then another twelve rounds of chemo. Those first six rounds caused discomfort, sickness and fear but was something I knew I had to endure as it was supposed to help me - I had to fight through it.
"Unfortunately, the chemo didn’t work on my tumour, with only a 5% reduction in size. It was too big to be removed on its own. The only way to cure my cancer was the amputation of my right leg above the knee. This happened on 23 October 2015.
“I remember waking up from the surgery in so much pain… that day will always leave me traumatised as it’s the day my life changed in the way I thought was for the worst at first. Turns out life hasn’t been all bad! Along with the negatives came positives, positives that have made up for the negatives and shown me more to life than I once thought.
"One of these positives was the huge help provided by SCAT - without them I wouldn’t have progressed as quickly as I have! They provided me with a kick start grant which inevitably helped fund the microprocessor leg I needed to open up wider opportunities and give me a chance of living a reasonably normal life again. With the help of SCAT and Dorset Orthopeadic I received a Rheo XC in April 2017 and I am incredibly grateful for this. I am walking freely and confidently, keeping myself active just like I used too and doing things a teenager does! Having fun!
“I can honestly say this leg has changed my entire perspective and experience of life - without it I wouldn’t be doing anywhere near as many things I am doing now. For that I can’t thank SCAT enough for the help they’ve given me and it shows no matter what situation, there are always people to help and that’s something I highly appreciate in this world. I now live a fearless, confident and fun life just as a teenager should!”