Alex Henry

Challenge: Above Knee Amputee

Sports: Swimming, Competitive Horseback Riding, Running, Water Polo

Bio: Alex Henry is a 15 year old, in the 10th grade. She loves to swim and ride horses. Her main sport is Equestrian. She started riding horses and competing about 7 years ago,and can’t begin to express her love for riding horses. On January 13th, 2015 Alex’s parents received the news that she had developed a tumor in her lower left leg, Osteosarcoma. At the time, her and her parents were told that she would have to undergo a 29 week process including chemotherapy and surgery, to get rid of the tumor and the cancer. Now, almost 3 years later, she has completed her chemotherapy treatments, and is 2 1/2 years post-amputation, with a left leg knee disarticulation. She chose amputation because she didn’t want to have to worry about wearing braces and undergoing surgeries for the rest of her life. She has been working with her prosthetist for a little over 2 years and has returned to her active lifestyle. Her mom told her, “all dreams are possible but you will have to work hard to achieve them!” which helped her successfully return to competing in the sports she loves.

She has been riding horses at Oak Creek Training Stables in Granite Bay for about 6 years and has an awesome trainer, Carmela Richards. Her dream is to become an advanced/professional English riding equestrian. She is hoping to attend college at UC Davis and ride for their equestrian team. Earlier this month, she was able to attend a USA Paralympic qualifier event at Rancho Murrieta near Sacramento with her trainer, and was able to meet and train with the Paralympic coach and staff. She was very motivated by watching the other paralympians compete with all of their physical challenges. Two years ago, Make a Wish granted Alex her own horse, Kiowa, and she has been training hard to reach her goals.

She has also been a competitive swimmer for 6 years. She loves this sport because it keeps her physically strong and allows her to hang out with her friends. This past year, she was able to compete at the high school level in swimming. She is very excited with all the possibilities that lie ahead, and is determined to not let cancer or the amputation keep her down.