At the start of summer, Amadeo’s grandma noticed he was limping after complaining of pain in his knee. Later in August, Amadeo’s mom, Melody, was given the news that no parent ever wants to hear- that her child had a type of cancer called osteosarcoma. Amadeo began the first of 10 rounds of chemotherapy at Lurie Children’s and was eventually told that the best option for his survival would be leg amputation. In October, Amadeo underwent surgery to have his leg removed. Within only a week, Amadeo began working with physical therapists to begin walking, and eventually running again with the help of a prosthetic leg.“The whole experience has been great- the teams, doctors, nurses and everyone has been the best. It was the best we could ask for with everything going on,” says Melody of their journey with Lurie Children’s. Through time spent inpatient receiving chemotherapy treatment, Lurie Children’s has become a second home to Amadeo and his family. Amadeo continues to undergo scans every three months and remains cancer free. He’s focused on getting back to riding a bike and participating in different adaptive sports clinics. Amadeo loves video games and enjoys activities like trivia and BINGO while inpatient at Lurie Children’s. During his stays on the Oncology unit, Amadeo relied on Child Life specialists to navigate the challenges of life after his amputation. One of his Child Life specialists, Elizabeth, says Amadeo brings so much joy to all who worked with him, and inspired many other patients while cruising through the hospital on his crutches before getting his prosthetic leg.