Submitted photo Skylar Scarnecchia and her prosthetic leg, which she calls “Felicia,” pose for photos Jan. 22 after Skylar, then 13, received the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health Courage Award, which is given to a student athlete who has faced a medical challenge in his or her life and approached the situation with courage and determination to get back into the game. With Skylar are her parents, Jim and Tricia, and her brother, Isaiah.

As Skylar Scarnecchia laid in her hospital bed, not long after a portion of her leg was amputated because of a cancerous tumor, the 10-year-old was handed her prosthetic leg.

The Champion native had several thoughts racing through her head. She just battled through months of chemotherapy, and when that didn’t shrink a large tumor in her foot, Scarnecchia had to agree to an amputation, which started under her knee.

Finally, after she received her new leg, she stopped thinking and came to a conclusion.

The conclusion? Felicia. Yes, Felicia.

“My leg is Felicia,” a giggling Skylar said. “I named my (prosthetic) leg Felicia in the hospital. When the nurses would leave the room, I would make them say, ‘Bye, Felicia!’ and I would wave my leg at them.”

Meet Skylar … and Felicia.

A young girl faced with synovial sarcoma, a rare form of soft-tissue cancer, at the age of 10, Scarnecchia took a different approach to recovery. Humor, faith and positivity guide her thoughts.

Scarnecchia, who was cancer-free during her last scans in December 2019, is doing much more than “recovering.” She’s thriving.

Aside from playing three sports as an eighth-grader at Champion Middle School, she has taken up modeling (working for KMR Talent out of Los Angeles), acting, dancing on GoNoodle and is even becoming a spokesperson is even becoming a spokesperson for cancer survivors and those currently battling the disease.

“I wanted to become a ‘spreacher,'” said Scarnecchia, who has looked to her Christian beliefs to help her through the battle with cancer. “It’s a motivational speaker and a preacher put together to inspire others that they can do anything they put their minds to.”

Felicia still is along for the ride.

Scarnecchia created an Instagram account (Iamskylarstrong) that often features the prosthetic leg. The account has nearly 3,000 followers, and there are different pictures and videos of Scarnecchia and Felicia, which she often dresses up with props.

“Felicia’s become a character,” said Scarnecchia, who used the prostheses as a fake guitar in one video. “On Instagram, I have Felicia Fridays here and there. I made SkylarStrong shirts during the summer for the sarcoma race, and Felicia was on the sleeve. She has googly eyes on, and she has lips and blonde string hair. It’s pretty great.”