Soldier rings bell marking end of chemo treatment

Spc. Malcolm Montgomery was stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas when he was rushed to the hospital after feeling sick. He told his chain of command he wasn't feeling well on the way to physical training. When they returned with someone to watch him, they found him unconscious.

Shortly after, Malcolm woke up in the hospital where bone marrow tests revealed he had leukemia.

Up to that point, Malcolm had been fighting for his country. That's when the active duty soldier's fight for his own health really began.

"I almost died in Texas from a bad morphine shot. I received the shot too fast and my heart rate had dropped lower than a 42." Malcolm said.  "I was so sick that anybody who ever was around me had to wear a mask and gloves and for 32 days in El Paso."

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Malcolm, who was receiving chemo treatments, had a port in his chest and was hooked to an IV. He remembers being too sick to even go outside.

But with help and support from his military and medical family, Malcolm's condition steadily progressed.

He was transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Columbia, South Carolina so he could be closer to his family.

"Everything began to turn around," Malcolm remembers.

The active duty soldier reflects on cancer as not only hard on your body, but hard on your mind. He recalls the incredible support he received from his military family.

"The military was there all the way. The military gave you that, 'Hey, don't worry about bills, get healthy. Hey, we're here for you, get healthy. Hey, don't worry about coming back to us, we're coming to you.' 'We're going to make sure you're here,' he said. "The military showed me how much they really care for me, and it was speechless, and it was amazing, just for genuine women and men of the service to help another person... it's family."

Cox Media Group