Saanich, B.C. woman inspires others with viral video after life-altering surgery
The first time Emily had her head shaved, she was a healthy Grade Five student raising money for a children’s cancer charity.
"It was important to me," the now 24-year-old smiles, before showing me a picture of her bald younger self beaming into the camera. "I’m happy that I did that."
The second time Emily shaved her head was after she felt a pain in her knee during a hike that led to the then 21-year-old being diagnosed with osteocarcoma (bone cancer).
"And it almost hits you the hardest when you’ve finished the chemo and the surgery," she recalls. "You look back on it like, 'Holy crap! What have I just gone through?'"
What Emily did was beat it. And thanks to this metal support inside her, she was able to save her leg and keep doing her favourite thing — hiking.
"I just enjoy being out there [in nature]," she says, before showing me photos from the mountains she’s ascended. "And you have a nice view at the top. That's good!"
A big hike was likely one of the ways Emily was set to celebrate being two years cancer-free, until she was told she wasn’t. And to win this new fight she’d have to lose her entire leg.
"It took me a while to just look down under the blanket in the hospital," Emily says, fighting back tears. "I wasn’t able to do it for a couple days because it's so much information, that you wake up without a leg."
Although her family was there to support her, Emily felt compelled to connect with others who experienced the same thing and posted a video showing the countdown to her amputation.
It begins with Emily showing her leg a week before the surgery, followed by similar moments during the days and hours leading up to it. The final image shows Emily without her left leg.
"My whole world flipped upside down," Emily cries, before smiling through the tears. "But I beat it for a second time, so that’s cool!"
And focusing on what’s good is now Emily’s goal, which is why she titled her countdown video, "50% off pedis let’s gooooo!"
She followed up that video with others that mix both humour and hope, including one that begins with Emily standing on two legs, before her amputation, asking "Is it terrifying?" The video then cuts to her casually leaning on a crutch with one leg. She answers her pre-surgery question with a smile: "No. I don’t think so."
"If I can post that and show people that it’s okay," Emily says. "I think that’s what’s important to me."
Her positivity has inspired 43 million views of the countdown video on TikTok, and a fundraiser for a special prosthetic leg that should allow her to return to being in nature on GoFundMe.
But just like when she was in Grade Five, Emily says the most gratifying thing is simply being able help others.
"If I can be [a support] to someone else, it helps me too," Emily smiles. "So it’s a win-win!"
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.