Former Wisconsin Badgers guard Walt McGrory, who starred at Edina High School in Minnesota, announced Monday that he had part of his leg amputated in his battle with osteosarcoma.
McGrory spent four years at Wisconsin after joining the team as a walk-on in 2017.
Former #Badgers guard Walt McGrory had a leg amputated yesterday (cancer). He provided an update today. He is smiling but the news is sobering. https://t.co/ZLTOZ7E1qP
— Jeff Potrykus (@jaypo1961) April 9, 2023
“Yesterday was the toughest day of my life,” McGrory wrote on his Instagram page Saturday. “My goal from the day I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma was to avoid an amputation.”
In August 2021 McGrory was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer.
“After the first limb salvage surgery over a year ago, I thought it was over. The next four months of chemo would clean everything up and I’d be healthy again,” McGrory explained from the University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s Hospital.
“But three months after remission, scans showed the tumor returned behind my knee. I found a surgeon who would do limb salvage when the others were telling me I needed amputation asap. Thought it was just a hiccup and a quick clean up would fix things. Even after that surgery last November when the tumor returned again behind my knee in January, I found a treatment center to compliment my chemo that also believed I could avoid amputation.
“But each scan showed the tumor getting bigger the past few months. The pain got to a point where I was on crutches and couldn’t sleep for the past month. When the scan this week showed the cancer had spread to my lungs, it was the final straw.”
“Whether the odds are in my favor or not, one thing is for certain: a broken spirit doesn’t stand a chance,” he continued. “Osteosarcoma in your leg is one thing, but the lungs is a different beast. I never thought things would get to this point. I’m no longer fighting to save my leg, but for MORE LIFE!”
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, McGrory was able to reconnect with his former Badgers team last month when Wisconsin closed out their regular season with a 71-67 win over the Gophers in Minnesota.
“THANK YOU to everyone who has had my back and given me the strength to keep pushing. You have had more impact than you think. Nights in the hospital or missing out on things because of pain or the inability to do something can definitely make you feel alone. There’s no way I could have made it this past year and a half alone, and these next six months of chemo and lung surgery will be no different,” he added.
