What would you do if you had to battle cancer as a 22-year-old? What would you do if you beat it and post-surgery infections led you back to the surgery room repeatedly?

 

What would you do if five years later if the pain from infection leading to those surgeries was too much to tolerate? What would you do if you knew you were going to have to amputate your leg; the very leg that was and has remained in remission since being diagnosed in April of 2014?

 

What would you do?

 

If you’re Jerome Axton, you think positive. Don’t get Axton wrong, if all things were equal, he’d prefer to know this time next year he’d still have a healthy leg, but things aren’t equal.

 

His leg isn’t healthy. His outlook most certainly is.

 

“I’ve never looked like I’ve been dealt a bad hand. There are worse hands out there. Life throws things at you and you learn how to cope and get by it,” said Axton. “These are blessings in disguise, and I’ve seen and witnessed those ever since I was diagnosed with cancer.

 

“I look at the way I’ve grown and matured. There are a lot more positives from who I’ve become than any negative,” he continued. “That’s not a BS line. I truly feel that way.”

 

Sometime in the months ahead, Jerome Axton will have the surgery to remove a portion of his leg from his knee down. Although it’s not cancer, it’s the result of his 2014 diagnosis of osteosarcoma, which is a bone cancer more commonly associated with teenagers and rapid growth.

 

Axton beat back cancer. His goal, he said at the time, was to return to the basketball court. It was the game he loved. It was his sanctuary from everything. It was his home away from home.

 

To get there, doctors removed the tumor and inserted metal into his leg to hopefully strengthen his leg for a complete recovery. There were risks with the metal as part of the healing process.

 

“The doctors told me from the start anytime you have metal there’s a higher risk of infection. Infection has continually attached itself to the metal in my leg,” said Axton.

 

When people think infection, they think a week’s worth of antibiotics and all is good again. In Axton’s case, it meant adding to a list of surgeries. In fact, it’s a double digits worth of surgeries.

 

“I’ve got two more surgeries going back to having cancer making it surgeries 13 and 14,” said Axton. “It’s enough. It’s time.”

 

The first surgery won’t be the major one. Primarily, his leg will be cut into and what he described as an “antibiotic block” will be put into his leg. The antibiotics will run for six weeks in his system to prep his body for the next surgery.

 

As part of the amputation, Axton said he’s undergoing a procedure known as rotationplasty. After taking out the damaged portion of the leg, Axton’s foot will be removed and attached to his knee but flipped 180 degrees.

 

The purpose is two-fold. It will create an amputation below the knee where success is higher. And the reverse foot works better with a prosthesis

 

“This will give me a full range of motion with a prosthetic device,” said Axton.

 

That will allow him to get back to the goal of a little bit of hoops, the 2010 BHS graduate said.

 

“That’s number one on my list. That’s my main goal,” said Axton. “I want to be back on a basketball court and run. I won’t be at the speed and I used to, but I could only shoot before.

 

“That’s my first goal, but it’s not the only goal,” he continued. “I have dreams to do things that I can’t do right now. I want to start a family and be able to run with my kids. Right now, that’s out of reach. After this is over, everything will be back in place.”

 

Understand, going through this wasn’t as simple as waking up and saying it is time. Axton’s body has been in misery many times in recent years. The body let him know it was time.

 

“I was just in so much constant pain. From the time my feet hit floor in the morning until I pick them up to go back to bed it was just constant,” said Axton. “The pain was dictating my life. Every year or two there’s a surgery or something else that made me pause my plans or interrupted them from starting a job or building family.”

 

That was the physical pain. The emotional brunt, he said, was worse.

 

“The pain was difficult, but I was in pain so much I was over it. The impact it was having on my wife, my family, my friends was the worst pain,” he said. “I watched all of them and to see them hurting for me was worse than any surgery. I was constantly heartbroken. I don’t want to see that anymore.”

 

In particular, he wants to get the most out of a marriage that saw its bloom when Axton was already diagnosed with cancer. Brittany Axton was with him early, when they were a couple and she’s been with him ever since she said yes to his proposal and the couple wed.

 

“She’s unbelievable. She’s my rock. People think I’ve got it bad, but I look at her and wonder how I got so lucky to have her in my life because she's been there through thick and thin,” he said. “From chemo to today, she’s always by my side.”

 

Axton was adamant that as important as she’s been, others have never yielded in their help and support.

 

“It’s been a total family effort. From my in-laws to my immediate family, it’s huge to have such an amazing support system,” he said. “When you have support from friends, family and community it eases your pain. I’m blessed to have that. I’m seeing blessings that are obvious and not-so-obvious throughout this.”

 

One involves a person he’s already mentioned – his wife Brittany. The fact that she’s an occupational therapist will make the transition easier.,

 

“She works with amputees. She told me we’d get through this together. Knowing that and her seeing me in so much pain and how it dictated my life helped us come to the conclusion this would be the best thing and allow us to move on with our own family and not have issues,” he said. “I wish everyone knew just how special she is.”

 

Axton said as he’s been unable to work for the last two months, his wife has taken on a larger workload. He said she’s opened her own business as well to help make sure things they are used to continue to the best that they can continue.

 

“She never complains. She does what she needs to do to make ends meet,” said Axton. “She’s special.”

 

I think Brittany Axton would agree she’s married to a special young man. His approach to his situation, for a 27-year-old, is simply humbling.

 

“Life is about positives and negatives and you can sit and beat yourself up over the negatives or pick up the positives. For me, the biggest positive is having the chance, God willing and working hard at physical therapy, to do certain things out of reach before,” Axton said. “That’s how I look at the situation.

 

“Hopefully, someone struggling will see this and it will help them with whatever is going on,” he continued. “There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it just takes a while to get there.”

 

If you find yourself in that tunnel, ask yourself a question: What would you do? If you’re not sure, ask Jerome Axton. He’s found the answer.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows Jerome Axton during his most recent surgeries as his wife Brittany holds his hand and the pair are shown together earlier this year. In the third photo, Jerome is surrounded by his brother Zo, left, mom Anne to the far right and his sister Brynn. In the fourth photo, Axton is shown with just a fraction of his huge crew of friends. All photos courtesy of Jerome Axton. Bottom photo shows Axton's sister-in-law Chanel Elsey, brother-in-law Seth Elsey, Lisa Musgrave (Brittany's mother), Matt Musgrave (Brittany's step dad), and up front is Chanel is holding their son, nephew Sutton Elsey