MINNEAPOLIS — A former basketball participant for Edina Excessive College and the College of Wisconsin died Saturday following a two-year battle with most cancers.
In August 2021, throughout his closing 12 months of faculty, Walt McGrory was identified with osteosarcoma, a type of bone most cancers, in keeping with his GoFundMe web page.
McGrory, 24, needed to bear amputation of his leg in April. Across the identical time, docs found most cancers had unfold to his lungs. He underwent one other process to take away the tumors in his left lung, however solely 20 tumors have been eliminated. One other 30-40 weren’t in a position to be eliminated, McGrory wrote.
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“There have been lonely days and darkish nights of the soul. However I’ve by no means been extra optimistic than now,” McGrory mentioned. “There’s a treatment on the market. I’ve been knocked down numerous occasions, however I’ll preserve choosing myself up till we discover it. This illness has taken lots from me, however it would by no means take my uncompromising will.”
GoFundMe
The basketball star claimed that he had gone by means of all of the identified therapy protocols for osteosarcoma and the one remedies his insurance coverage would cowl have been scientific trials. Even then, insurance coverage wouldn’t cowl most of the remedies attributable to “too little affected person information.”
The College of Wisconsin males’s basketball crew posted a tribute to McGrory on their Fb web page Monday afternoon.
“Our hearts and prayers exit to the household and buddies of Walt McGrory. The braveness and struggle that Walt demonstrated all through his two-year battle with most cancers was an inspiration to us all,” Greg Gard, Head Coach for the Badgers, mentioned.
McGrory appeared in 37 video games off the bench over 4 seasons at Wisconsin and was a part of the 2019-20 crew that gained a share of the Large Ten regular-season title. McGrory introduced plans to switch to South Dakota in April 2021.
In 2017, McGrory broke the all-time boys’ basketball profession scoring report at Edina Excessive College with 2,216 profession factors. He was a crew captain his junior and senior season and averaged 26.3 factors, eight rebounds and 6 assists his closing 12 months at Edina. He turned down a handful of scholarship gives from mid-major applications to stroll on at Wisconsin.
Thus far, greater than $136,000 has been donated to McGrory’s GoFundMe, which has a aim of $250,000.
