Weeks after amputation, Plymouth student spreading inspiring message
Wearing his ever-present smile, Jorgito Shqau is pictured with his mom Marsela during an hour-long interview March 6.
One of the most upbeat people navigating the halls of Plymouth High School last week was Jorgito Shqau, who undoubtedly was the navigator who has faced the most adversity during the past six months.
Displaying his ever-improving mobility with crutches as he cruised down the building’s corridors between classes, the Plymouth senior, whose cancerous left leg was amputated just below the knee on Jan. 16, is motoring through life with a smile and a message for everyone who is taking their health for granted: “Be grateful for what you have.”
In November, Shqau was officially diagnosed with osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer that had spawned a life-threatening orange-sized tumor in his left ankle.
Following weeks of hospital visits; a seemingly endless parade of blood tests, MRIs, a full-body PET scan, second opinions; and intense pain for the popular and high-achieving Plymouth student-athlete, a team of the finest oncology doctors in the country agreed Shqau’s left leg needed to be amputated just below the knee.
Could have been worse
In one respect, Jorgito was incredibly lucky, doctors revealed. The type of cancer that cost him his lower left leg usually spreads throughout the body in rapid fashion for people his age, severely limiting life expectancy. He is now cancer-free thanks to the surgery.
To say the former football star and weight-room warrior has tackled this unimaginable adversity with grace and resilience is more than an understatement.
“Sure, I was angry for about a week (post-diagnosis) — I wouldn’t be human if I wasn’t,” Shqau said during an hour-long interview March 6. “And, yes, I cried for a few minutes after I woke up from the surgery and looked down at my leg. It was like a bad dream.
“But, above all, I am so thankful for the three limbs I still have. I tell anyone who will listen now: ‘You don’t realize how important your legs are until you don’t have them’.”
And in his typical look-at-the-bright-side view of life, Shqau beamed: “You wouldn’t believe how strong my right leg has gotten through all this.
“I can’t wait until I get my prosthetic so I can start lifting and doing cardio again.”
Shqau’s remarkable spirit has not surprised those who know him best.
He has provided daily uplifting reassurance to his family and friends with his “Let’s go!” attitude.
One of his best friends, fellow Plymouth senior and football teammate Sam Plencner, told Shqau that if there was one person who could handle a life-altering setback of this magnitude better than anyone he knew, it was Jorgito.
Incredible perseverance
And Jorgito’s Plymouth High School counselor and football coach Derek Hoffman told Shqau his beyond-commendable perseverance never ceases to amaze him.
While Jorgito’s mom Marsela’s eyes still well up with tears while describing the weeks when the grim diagnosis evolved into worst-case-scenario clarity, she is now accepting of her son’s plight as well as can be expected thanks to his irrepressible positivity.
“Several times after we found out I’d be losing my lower leg, my mom would hug me and start crying,” Jorgito reflected. “Now, she still hugs me, but she doesn’t cry.
“I tell everyone, ‘You can’t go through life sad all the time. Life is too precious.’ This is just a temporary setback for me.”
The uplifting fashion in which Shqau has handled the amputation has spread throughout the Canton and Plymouth communities.
Inspiring complete strangers
“I’ve had random people — total strangers — approach me at Walmart or Target and tell me how they have heard about how I’m handling all this, and how I am inspiring them,” he said.
“Three or four days after my surgery, a team of doctors at the University of Michigan came into my room — they seemed kind of down — to ask me how I was doing,” Shqau remembered. “I smiled and said, ‘How are you doing?!’ They all smiled.”
A high-motor two-way star for Plymouth’s football team — as an offensive guard, he helped clear running lanes for record-breaking running back Jaxon McCaig; on defense, he was a never-take-a-play off, quarterbacks-worst-nightmare defensive end — Shqau worked his tail off in the weight room with a goal to someday earn a collegiate football scholarship.
Despite his strength — he broke a 22-year-old squat Plymouth High School record last year — and speed (he’s been clocked at 4.56 in the 40-yard dash, spectacular for a lineman) — he received no offers to play college football, a development that bummed him out, but only temporarily.
Up and down emotions
The 2023 season was a roller-coaster ride for Shqau. Playing with pain from the still-undiagnosed tumor during the early portion of the Wildcats’ schedule, he produced at his typical All-Conference level.
Once the severity of the gradually growing bump on his foot became more clear toward the middle of the season, he was sidelined two weeks before returning for Plymouth’s final two games.
“When we asked the doctors if I could return to playing the last couple of weeks, they basically said, ‘Go for it’, knowing playing wouldn’t make it worse and it would probably be the final two games of my career,” Shqau explained. “We kind of knew at that point the amputation was going to happen, but I had already prepared myself.”
Shqau expressed incredible gratitude for several people whose support has helped guide him through his surreal experience.
Extreme thanks
He’s particularly thankful for his parents’ love and guidance — and the support of his girlfriend, Ashley Vernier.
Shqau said his team of oncology doctors at the University of Michigan have been exceptional.
And he also shared high praise for Plymouth Head Football Coach Greg Souldourian; and assistant football coach Jim Baker, who, along with his wife who works in the medical field, expedited an ultra-important MRI procedure that helped lead to the diagnosis.
How you can help
A GoFundMe page for Jorgito has been established in part by the Plymouth Wildcats Football Booster Club, with a fundraising goal of $50,000 to help pay for medical expenses not covered by insurance.
A second fundraiser — sponsored by Plymouth football with support from Salem football — will be held Friday, March 15, at 6:30 p.m. at Super Bowl Lanes in Canton.
For $125 per lane, you will receive two hours of bowling, pizza and a pitcher of pop. There will also be 50/50 raffles and basket raffles — the proceeds from which will go directly to help with Jorgito’s medical expenses.
For more information on the bowling fundraiser, send an email to katycleveland1@gmail.com.
“I’ve had total strangers come up to me and tell me they’re bowling in the fundraiser,” Shqau said, smiling. “It’s amazing how supportive people I don’t even know have been.”
Future plans
Shqau is expected to be fitted with a prosthetic sometime in mid-April.
After graduating from Plymouth in June, he is planning on taking a nine-week welding course, so he can follow in the footsteps of his welder/mechanic father. He also has dreams of earning a mechanical engineering or computer engineering degree.
His true calling, however, may have him standing behind a podium in front of groups of students and adults, who would benefit from hearing how a young man in the prime of his life has dealt with a potentially-devastating obstacle with grace and relentless positivity.
“I’ve had people tell me I need to become a motivational speaker,” he said, smiling. “I would love to do that someday because people need to learn to be grateful for everything life has given them.”
He then flashed a genuine smile — a sign that no hurdle is too high for Jorgito Shqau.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
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