FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP FIGHT BONE CANCER AT
TEAMMEGHAN.COM
BY ANN KINNEY
Team Meghan T
At least that’s what Dr. Morreau at the
Olympic Training Center had told me. I think the furthest he went with Meg was “tumor.” All I knew was at 2:00 pm when I picked up the phone and heard Meg’s voice on the other end, some- thing had seemed odd. She’d simply stated, “Mom, I have some unfortunate news.” Yes, well I’d expected that much. Meg had been having “pain” in her left knee for over 4 months – since mid-June at least. But just like any other elite athlete who
has trained for many years, she was used to the “aches and pains” that go hand-in-hand with Synchro – especially in the knees, shoulders and elbows – areas that receive the most repetitive motion. And when you spend 8 – 10 hours a day, six days a week in the pool you’re bound to experience some level of discomfort. So pain was nothing new. Coincidentally, the national team was in final preparations for the 2010 FINA World Championships, coming up in mid-September. Therefore, the knee pain would have to be pushed through. And push through she did – placing 5th in duet and a 6th place finish for team. Meghan was elated as this meant a big boost for Team USA internationally after
two tough years of re-building following the retirement of the entire 2008 Olympic Team – except Meghan.
His advice to Meghan,
“Get yourself to a major metropolitan medi- cal center where they know how to help you.”
After a short break, during which she
came down to Aiken for a few days, Meghan had returned to the OTC on October 3rd, where the team was to begin another phase of training – this time in preparation for the 2011 Pan American Games and World Championships. As the only returning athlete from the 2008 Olympic squad, Meg was now team captain and determined to lead her team to a qualifying spot for London 2012. After that, she planned to retire from Synchro and return to The Ohio State University, where she would complete her degree and move on with her life. But as we know, life has a way of interrupting sometimes. Which brings me back to the after- noon phone call. What? Say that again?
12
USASYNCHRO.ORG JULY 2011
uesday, October 5th began like any other fall day at home in Aiken, SC. By the time it ended however, I was standing alone in the dimly-lit baggage
claim of Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport, anxiously waiting for my 21 year-old daughter, Meghan, to arrive on a flight from the OTC in Colorado Springs. Earlier, at approximately 2:00 pm, I’d received a phone call from Meg informing me that an x-ray had revealed, not a torn ACL or some other type of “overuse” injury, but a large tumor—Osteosarcoma…Cancer.
How could this be? Not my Meg! Please God, not my Meg! I might have even asked, “Why?” but just once or twice. I’ve experienced enough “unfortunate news” in my 51 years to know that the Universe is anything but “fair,” and have learned to quickly follow up the “Whys” with “Why Nots?” – especially when it comes to young healthy teens and adults with cancer. Meg handed the phone to Dr.
Morreau, who confirmed that he suspected Osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that accounts for only 1% of all cancers – which translates into just about 800 new cases in the US annually. His advice to Meghan, “Get yourself to a major metropolitan medical center where they know how to help you.” He also told her to “Prepare yourself for a long battle.” So within 12 hours of our arrival back in Aiken from Atlanta, we packed up the car and made the drive north to Columbus, Ohio, home of the OSU Medical Center and Dr. Joel Mayerson; one of only a handful of orthopedic oncologists in the country who specialize in the treatment of Osteosarcoma. Fast forward to June 2011— After nearly 9 months of aggressive
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