When Scott Hinshelwood lost part of his leg at just 15 his biggest concern was getting back to the things every teenager likes doing.
"I was nervous about it," Hinshelwood said. "They had a physical and she was pretty much like straight to the point and I needed that as a 15-year-old. She was like, 'Listen, we are going to get you in a protistic let you heal up a bit.'”
A run-in with Osteosarcoma had left him with a bald head and an amputation below the knee.
"I remember the shock and the kind of freak out of that, not really understanding why me,” Hinshelwood said.
It all began with an ongoing ache in his ankle. A tumor was found and he was admitted to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for treatment.
"I went to the original hospital, the star-shaped hospital, in May of 1990 and seeing a little bald girl and remember thinking, 'That’s not me, she’s sick,'" he recalls. "They referred me to go on a chemo regiment and sure enough, after a few weeks I was bald, just like that little girl.”
Scott fought for his life and the doctors at St. Jude came through with life-saving care.
"I am alive today because of St. Jude," he said.
Today Hinshelwood is part of St. Jude's life study because when treatment ends each patient is followed for life, learning from yesterday’s patients to improve care and outcomes for tomorrow.
"They worry about my heart, they worry about my kidneys, one of the drugs I was on back then they don’t use anymore...knocked out some of my hearing,” he said.
Hinshelwood is always willing to talk about surviving the odds, taking his story to social media with a Facebook page celebrating his life and dedicated to amputees.
"I was lucky enough to meet several little kids that are going through what I did,” he said.
All of it because donations to St. Jude mean life-saving care for children fighting cancer.
Learn more about how you can support St. Jude's mission by visiting ktvq.com/dreamhome.
