Tim

My name is Tim Songster. In March 2017 I was twelve years old and had been having strange shin pains. We went to the doctor and had the worst news, I had a primary bone cancer called osteosarcoma. I was very scared and didn’t know how to react.

Once chemo started I was very sick and could not do much. Together with my orthopedic surgeon, we decided to try and save my leg with limb-salvage surgery. This surgery removes the bones that have cancer and replaces them with titanium and cadaver bone. Saving my leg from amputation was very important to me, and I felt like that’s what I should do.

Things went a lot better after treatment; we had a massive celebration dinner, and I felt like I could be a normal kid again. In spite of mine, my family’s and my doctor’s best efforts, my limb-salvage leg would not heal from surgery. The decision was made to amputate. Though this decision was very difficult, I now have freedom from my wheelchair and have limitless possibilities of things to do.

At the MIB FACTOR Conference in 2019, I was recently out of treatment and many surgeries. My leg still hadn’t healed and I was in a wheelchair. I remember saying “I admire anyone who can get through osteosarcoma”. The whole time in treatment I didn’t think I was going to get through, but with my family and friends there I did, without them, it would have been way more difficult.

I now serve on the MIB Gamer Agent Team. If would like to game with us, sign up HERE: http://bit.ly/MIBgamers

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