A nurse who battled with cramps, aches and pains while doing overtime shifts treating coronavirus patients has had her leg removed after the problem turned out to be a cancerous tumor.
According to reports, 26-year-old Sette Buenaventura was tirelessly working on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19 when she began to experience a throbbing pain in her right leg during April.
Given that she was working 12-hour shifts at Salford Royal Hospital in Manchester, England, she simply put it down to her body’s response to fatigue.
However, the situation escalated when the pain became so bad she could no longer walk. Later tests would show that she actually had a sarcoma (cancerous tumor).
Making matters worse, the nurse was told that the only way to save her life would be to amputate the leg. She’s now aiming to encourage others to get themselves checked out if they have any persistent pains.
Sette said: “When they told me I had to have one my legs removed I got very upset, but because I had no time to think about it I just got on with it knowing that I didn’t have a choice.
“I can’t look in the mirror now and I don’t want to because it’s too much to acknowledge that what I’m seeing in the mirror is the new me.
“It was a huge shock to the system because originally I was told I would just have some surgery and be left with a scar, but in the time it took them to take scans of the rest of my body to check for spreading the original lump doubled in size.
“They told me that the only way they could save my life was to remove my leg from the top of my knee. It was a horrible feeling, but It all happened so fast that I didn’t really have time to process what was going on.
“I was diagnosed in April and my leg was gone by May, there was just no time to worry about it I just had to take in what they were saying.”
I can scarcely imagine the turbulent journey Sette has been on since April, but one thing’s for sure: she’s right about people getting check ups when they think something might be wrong with their body.
Although it can sometimes be daunting, scary even, to visit the doctors, nothing is more important that ensuring your continued health.
We’re sending thoughts in brave Sette’s direction. Here’s to hoping she can get her life back on track.
Share this article on Facebook to wish her well, and to remind others to always take their own health seriously.