Last week, U.S. Paralympics, a division of the United States Olympic Committee, announced that 16 Nordic skiing athletes and two guides have been nominated to the 2014 U.S. Paralympic Team to compete in biathlon and cross-country skiing at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, March 7-16, according to Team USA.

While the nominations are subject to approval of the USOC, this was welcome news to many resilient and hard-working athletes who have their hopes and hearts set on the upcoming Paralympic Games.

"After sending six athletes to the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, Team USA's Nordic roster will nearly triple in size with 12 men, four women and two guides for visually impaired athletes," Team USA adds.

"We are thrilled to bring such a large team of athletes and professional staff to Sochi," said John Farra, high performance director for U.S. Paralympics Nordic skiing. "We have made a concerted effort to introduce more athletes to the sports of cross-country skiing and biathlon over the past two-and-a-half seasons, and this growth is a sign of our success in keeping many of them excited about our Nordic sports and working toward becoming internationally competitive."

One of the resilient forces on the men's team is Augusto Pérez, who has made the list, and the drive and determination it took him to get there is inspiring.

The 41-year-old U.S. citizen born in Spain shared his story with Fox News Latino, including his grueling cross-country ski workouts and his hopes of making the U.S. Nordic ski team for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia. A decade ago, Pérez lost his entire left leg to cancer, thus making the sport even more challenging because he must compete with only the use of his two arms.

According to Fox News Latino, Pérez came to the U.S. while in high school to play soccer, but remained after graduation to attend college and pursue his love interest, Puerto Rican beauty, Brenda Calderón, who eventually became his wife, greatest supporter and biggest fan.

Pérez and his wife have two children -- 8 ½-year-old twins, Ainoa and Iker.

"He's a real inspiration for his children," she told Syracuse.com. "He tries to show that no matter what happens, he always has to try, no matter how hard it is. He keeps trying." 

In 2000, Pérez was diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma, at the age of 28. The rare form of cancer affects muscles, tissues, nerves and tendons which connect organs to his body. He was given less than a 30 percent chance of surviving five years because the sarcoma is resistant to chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

While Pérez defied the odds over a 14-year period, the cancer returned, and in 2003 he had to have his left leg removed in an effort to save his life.

"I've only cried once through my whole fight with cancer," Pérez told Fox News Latino. "It was when I had to tell my brother I was losing my leg, because we grew up playing soccer together." 

"Perez, who at the time of the amputation was working at ARISE where he taught life skills to developmentally disabled children, was determined to move on and not let it affect his life," Syracuse.com reported. "He eventually became passionate about wheelchair curling (dubbed 'chess on ice') and gained a spot of the U.S. Paralympic Team for the 2006 Torino games."

From there "Pérez would go to two Olympic Games (Torino and Vancouver in 2010), lead his team to a Bronze medal at the 2008 Wheelchair Curling World Championship and in 2008 became the first wheelchair athlete to be named USA Curling Male Athlete of the Year." 

While he enjoyed the success of curling, in 2008, he was ready for "something a little more physically demanding that would enable him to be "in tip-top shape to put up a fight against the disease," he explained.

Pérez, who lives in East Syracuse, N.Y., took advantage of the surrounding lakes and rivers to train. He took adaptive outrigger canoeing, "where in 2008 he became the disabled world champion in the 500-meter sprint and the following year he and teammate Tammy Hetke won the world championship in the mixed doubles 200-meter sprint."

Upon meeting some competitors on the Nordic ski team over a year ago, he was inspired yet again and decided to take on another challenge and give the sport a whirl. Without any prior experience truly skiing, he joined the U.S. Paralympics Nordic and Biathlon Team. While his arm strength was built up from canoeing, the new event was a tough adjustment.

"Without a left leg, Pérez perches his body atop a retrofitted, aluminum chair that is anchored to a set of cross-country skis. Instead of using his legs like a non-handicapped skier, Pérez is forced to rely on his arms and upper torso to dig into the snow and propel him along race course ranging from one kilometer to 50 km," Fox News Latino explained.

While it was extremely challenging at first, "Pérez's dedicated work ethic and commitment to helping his teammates earned him the respect and admiration of his teammates and coaches. Logging three to four hours in the morning training, followed by weightlifting routines and yoga sessions, the novice soon became one of the best skiers on the squad."

Then came October 2012 when he received the sad news that both his mother and uncle passed away from cancer. While mourning their loss, Pérez's cancer returned for the fourth time. He had to endure yet another intensive round of radiation treatment, but he forged ahead and continued to compete, which wasn't the doctor's orders. Instead, "he continued doing push-ups when his doctor told him to lay off weight-bearing activities and sneaking a trip to the Paralympic Nordic World Cup between treatments."

"The biggest reason driving me to compete at the World Cup was that I wanted to fulfill a promise to my mother that I would meet the standards and finish in the top 10," Pérez wrote in an essay for the anti-doping organization TrueSport. "I was able to meet and exceed Paralympic standards and made myself eligible for both Nordic and Biathlon." His mother, looking down from heaven, must be proud.

*U.S. Paralympic Team nominees for alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, sled hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling will be finalized by the USOC no later than Feb. 21, the deadline to submit Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games delegation rosters to the International Paralympic Committee.