How Being an Amputee Made This T.I.P. Student More Resilient
A knee injury that turned into a cancer diagnosis gave 19-year-old student and athlete Edgardo Ochaves a painful lesson in adversity. But the experience did not dampen his spirit and instead fueled him to work even harder for his dreams.
Ochaves, an incoming Bachelor of Science in Information Systems (BSIS) sophomore at the Technological Institute of the Philippines (T.I.P.) in Quezon City, counts himself among many Filipinos who do not let their physical impairments define them.
The young man from San Mateo, Rizal elected to have his left leg amputated four years ago. He hit his knee in the gutter while playing basketball with his friends in late 2018. There was a lump in that knee, which he aggravated after sustaining the injury.
The pain got worse over time, prompting Edgardo to seek medical treatment. “We were informed by the orthopedic doctor that I needed to undergo an operation. The surgeon extracted blood from the tumor and did a biopsy... It was cancer,” he said.
Ochaves was later on endorsed to an oncologist at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Quezon City. He was scheduled for at least six sessions of chemotherapy to prevent the cancer from spreading.
Although the pain subsided, his doctors told him there were still cancer cells building up in his knee after a PET (positron emission tomography) scan on the third session. At this point, he had to make a tough choice.
“I initially thought about saving (my leg)... But the day before the operation, I opted to let it go,” Edgardo recalled. His decision was influenced by stories of other patients who struggled with chronic pain and got weaker when they chose to keep their cancer-stricken limbs.
Ochaves resumed his last three sessions of chemotherapy and is now in remission. Life as an amputee did become a bit more challenging for him, but it turned out to be no different than when he had both his legs.
“I feel more healthy now. Gone are the times when I would feel intense body pain, so to speak. I am now okay unlike before when my knee felt really weak,” Edgardo noted. He continues to live an active lifestyle and do a lot of things independently.
In 2021, he even had the privilege of being drafted into the Philippine Wheelchair Men’s Basketball Team, which competed in the Under-23 Asian Youth Para Games (AYPG) held in Manama, Bahrain. They finished fourth place in that tournament.
Edgardo enrolled in T.I.P. last year on the recommendation of one of his teammates in the seniors’ division of the wheelchair basketball team, who is an alumni. He is currently enjoying his college life and appreciates his new alma mater.
“I am learning a lot and I made many friends who are also my classmates. That’s when I realized that even if I’m an amputee, I am no different from them. We are treated equally,” Ochaves said of the T.I.P. community.
The BSIS major usually arrives in school on his trusty quad bike and walks around the campus using a pair of crutches. He takes both the elevator and the stairs to go to his classes. He maintains a positive attitude towards life in general as well as his future.
Apart from his studies, he keeps himself busy training for future tournaments. His wheelchair basketball team aims to get another shot at a podium finish or even championship in the 2025 AYPG, which will be played in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
His message to other PWD students who also want to thrive despite their disabilities is simple: “Just do what is in your heart and in your mind. Never let those two work separate from each other because that might lead to more confusion. We must strive. Whatever goals we have in life, we have to keep working for it. Don’t stop until we get there... We need to keep going.”