An avid athlete who played both football and baseball for Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School, Clark Shelton began experiencing pain in his right leg when he was 15. At first, he brushed it off as growing pains, but as it got worse, he knew something was wrong. Clark’s mother, Ingrid, brought him to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, where doctors confirmed their worst fears—Clark had osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
Clark underwent several surgeries, including one in which his tibia bone and half of his right knee were replaced, and immediately started chemotherapy at Children’s. Clark also began physical therapy at Children’s, which he continued for two years. Physical therapists at Children’s helped to strengthen Clark’s leg and work on his overall conditioning and strength.
Today, thanks to his hard work and the dedication of the doctors and therapists at Children’s, Clark, now 19 and a junior in high school, is back on the field—this time as a coach and manager of his school’s football team and middle school baseball team.