My name is Emily Cox, I'm 24 years old.
I'm from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada,
and I'm a two-time cancer survivor.
(piano music)
Three years ago, I was living a normal life,
working and going to school
and went on a big trip in Whistler BC with my partner.
And after a big hike, I noticed that I had severe knee pain.
So we went to the emergency room
and after one x-ray we found out that I had bone cancer.
My world flipped upside down.
I didn't really even know how to comprehend
what was happening and what I was being told.
It was really upsetting.
After being diagnosed,
I completed four rounds of chemotherapy,
which shrunk my tumor.
I had a limb salvage surgery,
where they replaced the bottom half of my femur
and knee joint with a metal prosthesis.
And then I went on to do another six rounds of chemotherapy.
And that was when I was declared cancer-free.
After being two years of cancer-free,
I had my six month followup scans
and they found some bone irritation in the x-ray
and we went through a biopsy
and that's when they had found out
that my cancer had returned.
I knew the treatment was going to be very aggressive,
but I had no idea what was in store.
After doing research,
my only option to remove the cancer completely
was to do the hip disarticulation surgery,
which is where they removed my entire left leg,
removing the femur completely, all the way up to my hip.
It was really hard to accept
because once doing the research,
it was hard to find what my life would look like,
after living 24 years with two legs.
It was definitely hard to stay positive,
but after connecting with other people
that have gone through the same surgery,
it made it a bit easier.
After talking to a doctor about prosthetics,
he had mentioned that with my surgery,
there isn't a residual limb to move a prosthetic.
So it ends up just hanging there,
but he has seen it in the past very few,
but he told me to prove him wrong.
And that's exactly what I'm going to do.
I made a video counting down the days til amputation
and then after my surgery.
And I had originally made that video for myself.
But after watching it,
I felt like I wanted to share that
and let people know that it's okay
and normalize the thought of it.
So I posted the video on TikTok,
and it absolutely blew up.
And I was not expecting that at all,
but I'm really happy that I did
because I got so much positive feedback from it.
So my partner had started to go fund me for my prosthetic,
which will cost about $75,000.
We had started that about a month ago,
and it's already gotten up to $50,000,
which is honestly mind blowing.
I feel so loved and supported and lucky
that people want to help support me through my journey.
And I'm really looking forward to being able to show
that I'll be able to walk again,
thanks to everyone that helped.
Now that I'm more recovered and I have a better mindset
and able to move around a lot more.
I feel a lot more confident about my body,
and I definitely wanna show it off with one leg
and feel good about myself.
Not worry about what anyone else thinks.
You can take it literally one step at a time
and it's gonna be okay.
People are gonna be here for you
and support you, including me.
(transition sound)
Tell me, I don't know how you do this.
I mean, you're magical.
You find these stories that are so...
the example of how to be
a great human being.
Emily has been trying to raise,
as she told you in her backstory,
money to get her prosthetic of choice.
So I was talking to my friends over at Garden of Life,
who I worked with and they were so incredibly touched
by her story and moved by you as a human being
that they are giving you $30,000
to complete your fundraising goals.
(laughs)
Oh my God.
Oh my God, I'm sorry.
Wow.
I know, I know, I know!
Oh my God.
Me too!
Me too, I can't!
It's so awesome!
Amazing, I cannot even like express the words
(mumbles) that is, I'm sorry.
Oh my God. (crying)
I know!
I cannot even put into words how
grateful I feel right now, like
you honestly just made my dream come true.
Like, this will be able to make me walk again.
So I appreciate it so much. I know, I know!
I'm so happy! I can't wait to see pictures of that.
Emily, we don't know what to say
about how inspired we are by you.
Thank you to you all. I seriously have to get a tissue.
(laughs)
(theme music)