Meet Alejandro M. Lopez

Hey! My name is Alejandro Lopez. I am 22 years old and 10 days after my 21st birthday I was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in my left ankle. Talk about a birthday gift!  I never really thought much of my ankle, I work for Via Metropolitan Transit  and at the time I was a route cleaner going around cleaning the bus stops. Being that I was always getting in and out of my work truck and constantly on uneven surfaces, I figured I had just twisted or sprained my ankle when it started to hurt. The Saturday after Thanksgiving I went out with my cousin Downtown to grab some dinner for a belated birthday celebration, as one does Downtown we did a lot of walking and my ankle was definitely bothering me so we decided to leave. As soon as I got home I was in tremendous amount of pain, it took so much effort just to get my boot off because of how swollen my ankle was. The next morning I woke up still in so much pain, and at this point my ankle was about the size of a softball. I told my mom that something definitely wrong and that I needed to get checked out, so she took me to a 24 hour ER down the street. The ER doctor wanted to take X Rays to rule out Gout or a sprain, after the initial X Ray he wanted another one done, as soon as the tech came in saying they wanted to get another scan I knew something wasn't right. When the doctor came back in he gave us some news we were not expecting. He said to me "I hate to be the one to tell you this but it looks like you have a cancerous tumor in your ankle. It looks to be Osteosarcoma (Bone Cancer)" I completely zoned out. What are you supposed to say to that? How do I respond? He gave us some names and numbers of specialist and Oncologist in town. After calling and making an appoint 3 weeks away all we could do was sit and wait.

 

​Of course my parents were devastated, my mom was having a hard time and a few days later at work her boss asked if she was okay. After explaining what had happened, her boss asked if my mom had pictures of the X Ray and of course she did. So her boss sent the pictures to a friend of hers that just so happened to be the head of Radiology at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. After the Radiologist looked over the X Rays, he let us know that it definitely looked cancerous and was more than likely Osteosarcoma. He immediately got us an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon. so that following Friday we took that 3 and a half hour drive to Houston and I did blood work, CT Scan and MRI. After all the test we were finally able to see the Surgeon Dr. Valerio Lewis. She explained to us that there was a good chance of it being Osteosarcoma but I needed a Biopsy done to be certain. That same day we were able to meet the Oncologist as well Dr. John Livingston, he gave us a run down of what the chemotherapy treatment would be like and how long it would last. 

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After getting my biopsy done and confirming that I indeed did have Osteosarcoma, we started treatment immediately. December 20, 2023 I had my first round of chemotherapy. It was the worst feeling in the world, nausea, ringing in my ears, mouth sores, fatigue, fever and so much more. I felt worn down and tired and that was only after my first round, I couldn't even imagine 9 more months of this. We spent Christmas and New Year at the hospital, it definitely wasn't the Christmas we wanted or expected but we had to do what we needed to and we didn't want to risk the cancer spreading or getting worse. After a month and a half I was able to get my treatments moved back home to San Antonio at University Hospital. That's when I met Dr. Aaron Sugalski  and his amazing team! It was such a blessing for me to be able to start treatments back home, I was able to have family come and visit and the crazy things is when I started getting my chemo done at University most of the side affects went away, of course I had the nausea and fatigue still but the major side affects were gone. I was literally home sick, and God knew that I needed to be back home so he made sure I came home to finish my treatments.  

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When April came it was surgery time. The only thing was, which surgery am I going to have. Dr. Lewis gave me 2 options the first being limb salvage. This would consist of removing my ankle completely and fusing my foot to my Tibia and Fibula, I would have a permanent limp, be on crutches for 2 years and I would have a much higher chance of the cancer coming back. My second option was a below the knee amputation. I would be fitted with a prosthetic after completely healing and would be back to living my life just like before. As soon as I head amputation a wave of peace and calmness washed over me and I knew that was God. Either with 2 feet or 1 foot I would walk with him no matter would and he would take care of me. So April 11, 2024 I had my amputation. After 4 days in the hospital in Houston the doctors cleared me to return home. The next week I fell... twice in one day and both times on the end of my stump. The pain was horrible but the pain from my ego was even worse. It was at that time that I knew nothing was going to be the same, and I really needed to lean on God. After my fall my incision began to open up and of course an open wound is just inviting bacteria to come in... and come in the bacteria did. I had an infection and open wound for almost 4 months. I got Osteomyelitis which is an infection in the bone. Of course the chemo compromised my immune system and everything back, the chemo and healing process. After getting over the infection I continued with treatment. I completed my last round of chemo on October 26, 2024!! I was done. It was over. I thank God for getting through this all and I really could not have made it with out God, my family and friends. I am currently working on getting my prosthetic and should be walking on it by January 27, 2025!

My take away is this.. You have to take that leap into the unknown and scary because God is either going to catch you or he's going to teach you how to fly. 

"Do not fear for I am with you, do not be in dismay for I am your God. I will strengthen you and uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10.

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