Ben Delaney’s hockey jersey number is 12… and at age 12, he had to do something no kid should have to.  This avid hockey player had to give up one of his legs to save his young life.

After experiencing excruciating pain in his left knee, doctors conducted some tests and the diagnosis surprised everyone: cancer.  Ben has osteosarcoma, the same type of bone cancer that claimed the leg of Canadian hero Terry Fox.  It was a tough thing to hear for Ben and his parents, Mary Ann and Anthony.

“Initially, when they told me he had cancer, I knew it was bone cancer but I didn’t look anything up on the computer,” Mary Ann says.  “I didn’t research anything because I knew I’d lose my mind if I did.”

The cancer attacked his entire knee and then spread up into his thighbone.  The evidence was indisputable when an MRI showed in glowing white patches where the cancer had insinuated itself in Ben’s body.  Doctors tried to shrink it with chemotherapy, but that wasn’t enough.  After Ben soldiered through yet another round of uncomfortable tests, the doctors gained some critical information.  The good news was that Ben’s cancer had not grown or spread anywhere else, but that was tempered with the realization that it had not shrunk either.  Ben’s doctors arrived at the difficult decision – they would have to take Ben’s left leg since it was destroyed.

Ben’s journey was chronicled by a CTV camera crew and was included in the 2009 CHEO Telethon.  He and his parents allowed the cameras and reporters into their lives as they went through this ordeal in the hope of bringing the public inside the walls of the hospital and encourage the community to support the hospital.  It wasn’t easy.  Ben was in pain, and frightened about the road ahead.  Of course, in addition to the support of his parents, Ben’s medical team was also ready to help him fight his cancer.

Dr. Joel Werier performed the groundbreaking surgery that not only saved Ben’s life, but also will eventually enable him to skate and play hockey – the game he loves!

“The procedure is called rotationplasty,” Dr. Werier explains.  “After we removed Ben’s tumour, we rotated his foot and re-attached it.  This turned his ankle into a new knee joint and allows more mobility in prosthesis.  It’s an operation used in this kind of situation to allow the patient to be more mobile, more athletic and partake in sports.”

So to clarify, Ben’s knee was removed, his foot was re-attached backwards along with his entire calf.  Unlike other prosthetic limbs, it will actually allow him to bend his leg.  It wasn’t an easy prospect for Ben to wrap his head around either.

“It was creepy at first,” Ben admits.  “But I realized how much it would help me.  When I first found out about it, I thought it was crazy talk. ‘No, I’m not going to do that!’ But when you find out what it can actually do for you and what I’ll be able to do again, then it’s good.”

Right before Ben’s surgery, the camera crews captured some touching moments:  a kiss on the forehead from his father while holding Ben’s hand during an MRI, his mother caressing her son’s head left bald from the chemotherapy, and a moment between Ben and his surgeon. Dr. Werier signed the knee that he was set to remove, a formality in the medical world.  Ben also made the doctor promise that he wouldn’t see any blood when he woke up… a deal that was sealed with a pinkie swear and a secret handshake.

But, even with the reassurance from his doctor that the procedure would save his life and his lifestyle, Ben’s loss was a painful one, both physically and emotionally.

When Ben woke up from his surgery, his leg was gone, and he had to learn to walk all over again.

His mom knew her son would rise to the challenge. “I had no doubt that he’d do really well,” Mary Ann says.  “It’s been a long road, with treatments and lots of physiotherapy.  Even the surgery itself brought along a lot of pain to manage, but Ben’s a strong, strong boy.  That’s how we knew something was wrong in the first place, because his knee was in such excruciating pain.”

But the battle didn’t end with the surgery.  Ben required more chemotherapy to kill off any cancer cells that weren’t surgically removed.  But, Mary Ann says that they’re all coping as best they can.  “When you’re dealing with cancer, you’ve got black or you’ve got white,” she says.  “There’s no gray.  You’re either really happy or really sad, and you can be really happy and you learn to appreciate everything.”

In November Ben faced another surgery because his bones were not fusing together properly but yet again Ben has proven to be a champ. His physiotherapy sessions have put him back on the road to recovery and he’s now back to riding his bike!

He’s had many follow-up tests which have all indicated no remaining cancer cells in his body. Good news indeed! He’ll have these tests repeated in regular intervals and will continue with his physiotherapy sessions in his mission to gain more strength…and all his adoring fans are cheering him on.

Ben is getting acquainted with his new leg and appreciating all of the things it will help him do once again:  run, snowboard, ski and most importantly – skate and play hockey!  These things will make Ben, his parents and his extended CHEO family really happy.