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An amputation saved Andy Bloodworth’s life. Now he’s leading L.D. Bell in historic season

L.D. Bell is undefeated in District 3-6A, is ranked No. 11 in the state in Class 6A and has won at least 26 games for the seventh time in the last 13 seasons.

HURST — Andy Bloodworth faced an agonizing decision in 2000 after being diagnosed with a rare and aggressive cartilage-based cancer in his left ankle.

Bloodworth, now the head coach of one of the state’s best girls basketball teams at Hurst L.D. Bell, could risk his life and try to fight the cancer but would have only a 30% or 40% chance of survival. Going that route would force doctors to go in and scoop out the tumor and would require them to cut tendons and nerves.

“They said you will never remember your leg the way it was,” Bloodworth said.

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Or doctors could be more aggressive and give Bloodworth a 70% chance of living. That would require amputating his leg below the knee.

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This was a man who was 25 years old at the time and was in prime physical condition. He played football, basketball and golf at Plainview High School in Oklahoma and played basketball at Southeastern Oklahoma State. He was just starting his coaching career.

Either way, he would have his life turned upside down and would still face countless rounds of grueling chemotherapy that would leave him sick and unable to eat for days at a time. Bloodworth didn’t hesitate when deciding which excruciating route to take.

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“I said, ‘Done. Let’s do it. Amputate it.’ No second thoughts,” Bloodworth said.

It saved his life and gave him a chance to have a historic season at L.D. Bell.

Hurst L.D. Bell girls basketball coach Andy Bloodworth gathers his team before facing...
Hurst L.D. Bell girls basketball coach Andy Bloodworth gathers his team before facing Saginaw Chisholm Trail at Bell High in Hurst, January 23, 2024. Bloodworth was diagnosed in 1999 with a cartilage-based cancer called mesenchymal chondrasarcoma and had his left leg amputated below the knee that same year. He is in his seventh season as L.D. Bell's coach, and the team has started 27-1 this season and is ranked No. 11 in the state in Class 6A. They defeated Saginaw Chisholm Trail, 54-26, (Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)
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Amazing turnaround

Now 48, Bloodworth is trying to lead a 28-1 team to the state tournament for the first time in school history. L.D. Bell, which was 18-16 and missed the playoffs last season, is now ranked No. 11 in the state in Class 6A and has won at least 26 games for the seventh time in the last 13 seasons and for the fourth time in Bloodworth’s seven seasons as coach.

“We’re united as a team, and we believe in ourselves,” said senior point guard Katelyn Tietjen, who averages a team-leading 18 points per game. “We didn’t believe in ourselves last year.”

Watching Bloodworth on the sideline at a game, you would never know that he wears a prosthetic leg. Or that he taught himself how to walk with it.

During Friday’s 52-32 rout of rival Euless Trinity that kept L.D. Bell undefeated in District 3-6A at 9-0 and extended the team’s winning streak to 16 games, Bloodworth jumped up in the air at one point in the second quarter as he lobbied furiously for a travel call on Trinity. Then as the third quarter ended, he sprinted onto the court, shouting for a shooting foul to be called on Trinity on a last-second jumper by L.D. Bell.

“He is a really good coach,” sophomore guard Hannah Due said. “He encourages us a lot, but he also pushes us. We bring in the boys sometimes and play against them [in practice]. He jokes about [his leg] but doesn’t really talk about how it happened.”

Trying times

Bloodworth was in his first job out of college and was working at Harwood Junior High in Bedford as a basketball coach and teacher when he was diagnosed with mesenchymal chondrasarcoma, considered a childhood cancer that shows up in ages 0 to 25. Bloodworth’s chemo treatments lasted nearly two years, even though his amputation got rid of the tumor.

“Your brain tells you it’s gone, why do I keep doing this when it makes me sick?” Bloodworth said. “I don’t eat for six days straight. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life. I’m not even talking about the amputation. I’m talking about the chemo.

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“But they said all it takes is for one little cell that is floating around in your bloodstream to stop somewhere and it’s going to metastasize, which means proliferate.”

Bloodworth began his treatments at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth. Watching the children there fighting for their lives made it an alarming experience.

“It was an unbelievable facility and unbelievable doctors, but it was unbelievably sad and stressful,” Bloodworth said. “Seeing those young kids who might not make it. There were two younger kids here in HEB, and I knew their families and they were there at the same time. Neither of them made it.”

Bloodworth said he never thought about quitting coaching, and he hasn’t had any recurrences. The only problem he has had since the amputation is that five to six times a year, he will get a pulsing feeling because his leg is gone that will last three or four days and make for several sleepless nights.

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Bloodworth is still in prime physical shape, working out five to six times a week. But does he ever get scared that the cancer could return and kill him?

“Absolutely,” he said. “I don’t ever talk about it to anybody, but it’s always in the back of my mind.”

Memorable moments

Bloodworth has not been alone in his recovery from a leg amputation. Monique (Burkland) Matthews, who was at Plainview when Bloodworth was coaching there, had a similar procedure after graduating from high school and went on to win a gold medal for the U.S. Paralympic women’s sitting volleyball team despite not playing volleyball in high school.

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“We’ve kept in touch,” Bloodworth said. “We would compare [prosthetic] legs. I’m so proud of her. She found her niche after her amputation and stayed locked in and showed a lot of grit.”

Hurst L.D. Bell girls basketball coach Andy Bloodworth was diagnosed in 1999 with a...
Hurst L.D. Bell girls basketball coach Andy Bloodworth was diagnosed in 1999 with a cartilage-based cancer called mesenchymal chondrasarcoma and had his left leg amputated below the knee that same year. He is in his seventh season as L.D. Bell's coach, and the team has started 27-1 this season and is ranked No. 11 in the state in Class 6A. He is pictured outside his teams locker room at Bell High in Hurst, January 23, 2024.(Tom Fox / Staff Photographer)

When Bloodworth had to go through chemotherapy, doctors told him that he probably wouldn’t be able to have children. That is why he feared the worst when he came home from work one day and his wife, Sandy, said that she had some bad news to share.

“She says ‘I’m going to be sick, and I’m going to be sick for a while,’ " Bloodworth recalled. “My mind goes straight to cancer.”

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But like Bloodworth’s life-long journey since his amputation, this story also has a happy ending.

“I’ve got tears in my eyes and she pulls out a onesie from behind her back and says ‘I’m going to be sick for nine months.,’ " Bloodworth said.

They now have a son, Brock, who is 9.

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