‘Resilient’ Teen Jack Berry Is Ready To Take On His Next Challenge As A Nordic Skier

Jack Berry has beaten cancer three times and inspired people in his hometown of Missoula, Montana.

Known as “Jack’s Army,” they planted hundreds of signs in their front yards to show their support for Berry and his family as he went through multiple rounds of chemotherapy.

Berry was also featured in a short documentary titled “High Road,” which chronicles his training for a gravel bike race with Megan Fisher, a fellow Montana native and a Paralympic gold medalist in cycling.

“I’ve always kind of thought of myself as having a pretty resilient mentality,” Berry said.

Berry said he has been cancer-free since 2021. Instead of taking it easy, the 16-year-old high school junior has trained this winter with the hopes of someday qualifying for the Paralympic Winter Games in Nordic skiing.

His ultimate dream is to become a Paralympian in both Nordic skiing and cycling, something 17-time Paralympic medalist Oksana Masters has managed to juggle over the past decade.

“We want him to have fun, and that’s what we’ve always said to him is whatever you’re doing, it needs to be fun,” said Cooper Berry, Jack’s father and a Missoula firefighter. “But that said, if you want to pursue (the Paralympics), you live in the right place and you have the right resources around you. It’s yours to go get and what an incredible opportunity, and he sure seems like he’s focused on that opportunity.”

In late February, Berry raced at a Nordic skiing competition sanctioned by the FIS in Bozeman, Montana. He said he was proud of how he performed, especially since he advanced further than he had before in the classic sprint race.

Berry was also chosen to take part in a training camp in Livigno, Italy, during the first week of April. BethAnn Chamberlain, a development coach for U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing, accompanioed the teenager as he trained with other development athletes from across the globe.

“I remember just finding out that I was selected, and it was certainly a major boost in confidence and just kind of showing me that the effort I’ve been putting in is paying off,” Berry said. “It’s definitely encouraged me to continue to pursue Nordic skiing, and (I’m) really just trying as hard as I can to be at the top.”

Berry grew up playing hockey and running and mountain biking with his father, but he was forced to stop playing hockey after he was diagnosed with cancer at age 10.

In July of 2018, Berry was preparing to go on a three-day backpacking trip while at a summer camp. He had been experiencing some pain and soreness leading up to the trip, but he assumed it was just growing pains.

As everyone was waiting to load a van to leave, Berry attempted to jump over a fence but broke his right leg when he landed. An X-ray revealed he had a tumor just above his right knee, which had weakened the femur in his leg.

Berry learned he had osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that tends to affect kids, teenagers and young adults. It’s often found in the long bones of the legs.

“I feel very lucky that I broke my leg,” Berry said, laughing. “Even if it hadn’t been in that moment, we would have been 20 miles into the forest (while backpacking) and it would’ve just been a really bad situation, so I think I feel incredibly lucky that happened when it did happen.”

Berry and his family decided to go to Boston for eight months of treatment. While there, he underwent a surgical procedure known as rotationplasty, which is used to treat bone cancer near the knee.

Doctors removed Berry’s right knee, and his foot and ankle were rotated 180 degrees and then attached to his femur. His right ankle now essentially acts as a knee, and he wears a prosthetic leg to help him move.

“It’s a tough thing to see as a parent. I want to give him so much credit,” Cooper said. “He just had a great mentality about it, but he was supported by so much love and optimism and just surrounded by family.”

In addition, Berry’s father knew Para Nordic skier Dan Cnossen through a mutual friend. Cnossen, a seven-time Paralympic medalist and a former Navy SEAL who lost both of his legs in an explosion while serving in Afghanistan, was living in the Boston area at the time.

The day after Berry returned home from the hospital, Cnossen visited him and showed him one of the two Paralympic gold medals that Cnossen has won.

“Dan right away was very excited to meet me and show me everything, and we went on a run together at one point,” Berry said. “It was just really great to meet him at that point in this whole process because it really filled me with positivity towards the future, so that was pretty incredible.”

Berry’s health issues didn’t end after his rotationplasty, though. He needed to have surgery after doctors twice found cancer in his lungs, but he has received a clean bill of health since then.

Berry said he now dreams of being a Paralympian like Cnossen, whom he calls a really close friend. He started cross-country skiing with a prosthetic leg in 2019, and he joined a club ski team the following season.

“I think my fitness obviously has gotten a lot better with just more time with my prosthetic. I’m able to train more and develop the strength I need for Nordic skiing,” Berry said. “Also, I’d like to think that my mindsets changed a little bit to just seeing the opportunities that are available with this and to having the discipline to train and pursue it correctly.”

Alex Abrams has written about Olympic and Paralympic sports for more than 15 years, including as a reporter for major newspapers in Florida, Arkansas and Oklahoma. He is a freelance contributor to USParaNordic.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc