Teen who lost her leg to rare cancer aged 10 opens up about the realities of 'embracing her disability' after going viral for her Bama Bound outfits

A wheelchair hoops enlistee headed to nan University of Alabama this autumn made waves aft giving fans a glimpse into nan realities of being a Bama-Bound freshman.

Skylar Scarnecchia, 18, from Warren, Ohio, enticed a immense pursuing connected societal media acknowledgment to her upbeat outfit-of-the-day posts successful which she highlights her apparel and accessories, on pinch her prosthetic leg.

She decided to show disconnected her 'fits on TikTok complete a June two-day predisposition for incoming freshman astatine University of Alabama, hyped connected societal media pinch nan tag #BamaBound.

While #BamaRush has go known for sorority hopefuls' excessive displays of wealth, Skylar went viral pinch her ain down-to-earth narration of her look - besides proudly highlighting her prosthetic successful nan process.

Skylar has since sat down pinch DailyMail.com to talk nan realities of her journey. 

In her now viral videos, for her day-one outfit, Skylar showcased a light-blue American Eagle tote, reddish vessel apical and red-striped achromatic diversion shorts from Amazon, vintage Havana shoes, earrings from Amazon, a Kendra Scott necklace and an Apple Watch. 

And her prosthetic leg? From Ohio's Hanger Clinic. 

On day two, it was nan aforesaid American Eagle tote and Apple Watch but this clip pinch Amazon overalls, Walmart top, Converse shoes, necklaces by Kendra Scott and TJ Maxx - and again, prosthetic from Hanger Clinic.

'Thank you guys truthful much, and rotation tide!' Skylar concluded, sounding disconnected nan university's rallying sports cry. 

'Before I committed to Alabama, I ever saw #Rush TikTok and I thought it was truthful cute, and truthful overmuch nosy seeing each these girls retired and everything,' Skylar told DailyMail.com.

'Then, arsenic I saw nan prices, I can't do that stuff. So, going to #BamaBound, I did spot immoderate girls posting their outfit of nan days and I said, "This is my opportunity to show my outfits, but connected a budget,"' she said pinch a chuckle.

As her OOTD station for #BamaBound 'blew up,' Skylar described really 'it was truthful humbling looking done nan comments and group were like, "Thank you for being existent and like, what your prices are, what your for illustration outfits are."'

'It's truthful important to beryllium existent connected societal media,' she added.

Skylar besides acknowledges really she's representing beauty successful an unconventional measurement arsenic she heads to a field that's gained immoderate notoriety done nan #BamaRush arena for championing very constrictive - and for most, unattainable - standards of feminine beauty.

'I deliberation embracing your disablement is truthful important,' Skylar reflected.

And it's a beautiful point to show people. Because you don't usually spot group pinch disabilities connected an mundane ground unless you person personification successful your life pinch one.

'And truthful erstwhile I was showing my outfit, I was like, I'm gonna outcry retired Hanger Clinic because that's really I sewage my leg,' she described.

As for group speculating that she was successful truth aspiring to partake successful #BamaRush, Skylar quickly group nan grounds straight.

'Rush is cool and each but I'm playing adaptive sports. And I wanted to item adaptive sports astatine nan University of Alabama truthful we tin get caller fans… I deliberation it's an awesome program, and they request to beryllium conscionable arsenic large arsenic immoderate different athletics there,' she said.

Still, Skylar's passion for athletics came agelong earlier her prosthetic, and playing sports is astatine nan halfway of her identity.

'I was an progressive kid,' she told DailyMail.com. 'I played each athletics I could ideate - soccer, track, volleyball, softball, basketball.

'And I loved each nan sports, not needfully that I was bully astatine each of them!

'But hoops was nan 1 athletics that conscionable clicked pinch maine and I've ever loved.'

She first took up hoops successful nan 2nd grade, and played 'stand-up basketball,' arsenic she describes it, up done her crab diagnosis.

As a fifth-grader, Sklyar was diagnosed pinch shape 4 synovial sarcoma, an ultra-rare crab that affects soft tissue, successful her foot.

'So I had to put my life connected region for my disease. And I was very upset astir it. I emotion basketball. So it was very disappointing,' she said.

In nan people of her treatment, Skylar yet mislaid her portion of her correct leg, from beneath nan knee, and was fitted for a prosthetic. 

And, cancer-free by mediate school, Skylar was fresh to get backmost connected nan court.

While she played nan crippled good pinch her prosthetic, she admitted that, by her sophomore twelvemonth of precocious school, her 'love' for 'stand-up basketball' was starting to 'fizzle out.'

But, correct arsenic she was starting to mobility her passion for basketball, she sewage a connection from Paralympian Darlene Hunter, who suggested she effort wheelchair basketball.

'At first I was like, "I don't cognize if I want to. I tin run, I tin jump, I tin stand. Why would I spell successful a wheelchair?" But that was conscionable my pridefulness getting successful nan measurement of an astonishing opportunity,' Skylar described. 

'So eventually, God said to maine and said, "Skylar, effort nan sport. I deliberation it's going to unfastened a batch of doors for you."

'And I tried my very first believe retired pinch nan Cleveland Cavaliers. And arsenic soon arsenic I sat successful that chair, I fell successful emotion pinch nan athletics each complete again.

'It was a emotion that I could never, I consciousness like, relive aliases imagine, but it was conscionable there. And I knew from that constituent connected my life was changed,' she recalled. 

Though nan basal rules of wheelchair hoops are similar, location are immoderate cardinal differences successful really nan crippled is played.

'It was very hard!' Skylar said of nan adjustment. 

'You don't deliberation astir really you person to dribble while pushing your chair,' she pointed out. 

In nan charismatic rules, players whitethorn clasp nan shot successful their laps aliases successful their hands for nary much than 2 pushes of their wheelchair earlier they must dribble it again.

The tallness of nan hoops, astatine 10 feet, is nan aforesaid arsenic successful stand-up basketball, pinch nan tribunal dimensions nan aforesaid size arsenic well.

The scoring strategy is besides nan same, pinch one-, two- and three-pointers arsenic measured by nan shooter's region from nan hoop.

Over Easter of 2022, pinch Skylar still a high-school sophomore and increasing to emotion wheelchair hoops much and more, her mom amazed her, asking her if she'd want to spell to University of Alabama's wheelchair hoops campy nan coming summer.

Skylar enthusiastically said yes. 

When she arrived to field for nan first time, she said it was for illustration Lynyrd Skynyrd's Sweet Home Alabama had travel existent for her.

'Because I conscionable felt for illustration location there!' she said.

During camp, she was singled retired by Coach Ryan Hynes, nan coach for nan university's women's wheelchair hoops team. 

Coach Hynes had besides led nan squad to triumph nan nationalist title for 5 years moving - which is besides astir of his tenure, having taken up nan position successful 2018. 

He asked Skylar to enactment successful touch.

On Good Friday of 2023, he officially reached retired to her to inquire if she wanted to travel play connected nan University of Alabama women's wheelchair hoops team, pinch a afloat athletics scholarship, arsenic portion of its Alabama Adapted Athletics program. 

'And I did! I was like, "There's nary different action for me."'

What's more, Skylar felt a typical affinity to nan assemblage acknowledgment to a awesome that, successful a stunning coincidence, straight echoed what had been for her an image of dream from nan scary days pursuing her crab diagnosis.  

Back then, she'd been asked to take an animal to put connected a tee-shirt arsenic portion of organization fundraising efforts for her and her family.

Skylar chose an elephant, pinch its trunk raised successful nan aerial - arsenic a motion of 'good luck,' she explained.

Years later, arsenic her parents were picking her up from summertime campy astatine nan campus, nan family decided to threat a speedy photograph successful beforehand of nan university's sign.

On seeing nan sign, they were collectively, giddily shocked to return successful nan image of an elephant pinch its trunk raised.

Only past did she recognize that nan university's mascot was, successful fact, an elephant. 

'Leading up to that, we had nary thought what nan mascot was. We didn't cognize thing astir Alabama. We were conscionable location to play wheelchair basketball,' she recalled.

'And we pulled up, and nan elephant pinch a trunk up was correct there. Because their mascot is Big Al. And maine and my family conscionable started crying together and we conscionable hugged. And this is truthful important to me.

'And truthful to beryllium present astatine nan University of Alabama, pinch these caller opportunities, and their mascot to beryllium an elephant, that's not a coincidence. That's a God thing.'

As for her acquisition aspirations, Skylar plans to awesome in Human Development and Family Studies pinch a attraction successful Child Life.

After college, she plans to go a child-life specialist, pinch nan purpose of helping children battling cancer, and she erstwhile was.  

'I want to beryllium their ray astatine nan extremity of nan tunnel,' said Skylar.