When he was 15, Sam Becker \u201925 was faced with a brutal choice: keep the metal prosthesis in his weakened right leg and endure more infections, or have the leg amputated below the knee.<\/p>\n
His parents did plenty of research and talked to numerous doctors. \u201cBut in the end, it was Sam\u2019s decision,\u201d his mother, Karen Becker says. \u201cThe toughest decision of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Becker had been diagnosed five years earlier with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer prevalent among children and teens. The tumor and bone in his leg were removed, and doctors inserted a metal prosthesis. Becker learned to walk again and endured months of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
But bacterial infections twice forced doctors to replace the prosthesis, and each time Becker followed the same routine: wheelchair, crutches, cane, walking. The process took months, and he was in constant discomfort, with little mobility. Doctors believed it was a chronic condition that could reappear at any time.<\/p>\n
It was sled hockey that ultimately convinced Becker to choose amputation.<\/p>\n
Becker had begun playing the sport two years earlier. In sled hockey, players with mobility limitations sit in specially designed sleds atop two skate blades. Each player uses two sticks instead of the traditional one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw that amputees were more active than I was,\u201d he says. \u201cThey were playing a sport they loved and having fun. Having my leg amputated below the knee was the hardest decision of my life, but I had found something that would keep me active. Sled hockey gave me back my competitive spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five years later, Becker is an optics major at the University of Rochester<\/a>, a\u00a0player on the Buffalo Sabres sled hockey team<\/a>, and a member of the US Men\u2019s Development sled hockey squad<\/a>, with his eyes set on the 2026 Paralympic Games in Italy. He\u2019s pursuing two career paths\u2014academics and athletics. And he\u2019s more active, and happier, than ever.<\/p>\n Becker grew up in Olney, Maryland, the middle child to Aaron and Karen Becker. He loved playing sports growing, especially soccer. \u201cI played it seven days a week nonstop,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n In 2012, at age 10, he began experiencing pain in his right leg. \u201cI didn\u2019t give it much thought,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, one day at recess, I jumped for a soccer ball and landed on my leg\u2014and it completely collapsed.\u201d<\/p>\n Doctors suspected it was a torn anterior cruciate ligament and sent him for an MRI. A tumor was discovered in his right femur, and Becker was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. According to cancer.net<\/a>, about 1,000 cases are diagnosed yearly in the United States, and roughly half of those are children and teens.<\/p>\n His first question after being diagnosed was, \u201cCan I still play soccer?\u201d<\/p>\nA cancer diagnosis at 10<\/strong><\/h3>\n