The sister of a young Wiarton man diagnosed with cancer has created a GoFundMe page to help buy him a prosthetic leg.
25 year old Nicole Bishop says her younger brother Brad, who was just finishing up his third year of university, has been diagnosed with an aggressive form a Sarcoma Cancer in his foot.
She says he is scheduled to have his leg amputated from the knee down Thursday (July 23rd).
In a post on the GoFundMe page, Bishop says, “Unfortunately, by the time we caught it, the tumour had basically consumed his entire foot, destroying all the bones and leaving his foot unsalvageable.”
She says a prosthetic leg will cost between $10,000 and $50,000 and notes, only part of that will be covered by insurance.
Bishop says Brad will be starting rehabilitation about three weeks after his amputation, and that will be required for months, “We'll probably have to stay in Toronto for that since it will be pretty intense rehab.”
She notes during that rehab time, the family will need a place to say in the city.
Bishop says her brother has always been active and athletic and the hope is to get Brad a running prosthesis, “It's an important part of his life and we want to have him back to normal as soon as possible and a normal lifestyle.”
As of July 22nd, $42,371 has been raised of a $50,000 goal.
After that Bishop says, “We're going to open, probably a bank account so he can be set for a while that way.”
She says in about five years time, he'll need a new prosthesis again.
The GoFundMe page is called Brad's Fight Against Cancer.