A young Edmonton woman is about to go through a life changing procedure. On Monday, Crystal Montgomery will undergo an amputation surgery to remove her arm from the shoulder down.
The 18-year-old has osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumour in her left shoulder.
The first time Crystal noticed something was wrong was in November of last year, when she was hit in the arm while out celebrating her 18th birthday.
“My friends said that I just automatically dropped to the floor and was just in pain, was crying and couldn’t explain what was going on.”
She says there wasn’t anything noticeably wrong with her arm so she didn’t think much of it but, a few months later her arm stopped working all together. Crystal was diagnosed with bone cancer in July.
“I automatically just lost it. I just started crying and I was in pure disbelief. I just kept saying ‘I have cancer, I have cancer’ and screaming and crying.”
Since then she has undergone seven chemotherapy treatments. She has lost all of her hair and 30 pounds over the course of her treatment, which completely wiped her out.
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“It’s been pretty rough right from the beginning,” Crystal said adding, “It was like I wasn’t really there. My body was there but, to me, my mind wasn’t quite there. I was just in this really, really weird state of just pure sickness.”
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Crystal says her doctor told her from the very beginning there was a chance she could lose her arm. She says she has tried to prepare herself over the past few months, and the day she got the news it was actually going to happen she took it rather well.
“It wasn’t actually until the day after that it really hit me that, OK, you know, they’re literally taking a piece of me.”
She says once the news sunk in, she just sat and cried.
“I really hadn’t cried since the very beginning, I really, really didn’t let anything overtake my positivity, but this really shook me. It really, really just broke my confidence. I couldn’t see my future. When I looked after the surgery, all I could see was black.”
Crystal says her family and friends have been extremely supportive throughout the entire process. One of her best friends even arranged to have Justin Bieber visit her in the hospital when he was in Edmonton for his concert in October.
“It still doesn’t feel real. I still have dreams about it,” she said adding, “It was so mind blowing and he was so nice.”
Crystal says the reason she has been able to remain so positive is because she has so many wonderful people behind her, supporting her through the entire process. One of her biggest rocks has been her father, who is extremely proud of his daughter’s strength and positivity.
“If she can keep a smile on her face and go through this, then whatever my aches and pains are, are nothing compared to what she’s doing. So, I’m very proud,” said Robert Montgomery.
Crystal will undergo surgery on Monday. The inspiring young woman says while the cancer may be taking her arm, she’s going to fight.
“Cancer can’t take me. I won’t let it. There’s no way. I’m not going anywhere.”
This Friday, Crystal’s brothers are dedicating their hockey game to her. Their team, the KC Warriors will take on the Sherwood Park Saints at 6:15pm at the Sherwood Park Arena. The boys will be collecting donations for their family to help with the costs that aren’t covered by health care.
With files from Su-Ling Goh.
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