**17-Year-Old Julianna Battling O*teosarcoma After Losing Her Entire Left Leg—Now Fighting Through Recovery**

Bone cancer took 17-year-old Julianna Barrientos’ entire left leg and required surgeons to reconstruct much of her pelvis to give her a chance to survive.

Now, only days after nearly 36 hours of surgery, Julianna is slowly getting herself out of that hospital bed and beginning the long process of rebuilding her life.

Her dad, Adam, shared a photo from physical therapy, and after everything this young woman has endured, it’s hard not to see her progress as something extraordinary.

Every movement requires tremendous effort from a body that has just been dramatically changed.

Julianna was a gifted Alabama soccer player with two Division I offers when o*teosarcoma turned her life upside down. When chemotherapy failed to stop the cancer, the tumor eventually consumed her entire left pelvis and spread into her sacrum and L5 vertebra.

The surgery that gave her a chance to survive meant losing her entire left leg, along with extensive portions of her pelvis and surrounding bone.

Before surgery, Julianna made her choice clear:

**“I’d rather live without my leg than not at all.”**

She survived two major operations at MD Anderson in Houston earlier this month, totaling nearly 36 hours. Surgeons even used healthy bone from the leg that had to be amputated as part of the massive reconstruction.

Now comes the part no surgery can do for her:

**Recovery.**

Adam says Julianna has been moved out of the PICU and is gradually reducing her pain medication. Remarkably, he says she is already experiencing much less pain than she had before the tumor was removed.

She still faces another surgery Monday to revise her surgical flap. Adam says the procedure was expected, but it is happening sooner because her body has been healing faster than anticipated.

There will be difficult days ahead as this 17-year-old learns to navigate a body and life that look very different from the future she once imagined on a soccer field.

But remember what Julianna told us before all of this:

**“I want to live.”**

She sacrificed her leg for that chance.

Now, one painstaking movement at a time, she is getting out of bed and fighting for the life on the other side of it.

Adam says Julianna believes **“God isn’t done with her yet”** and hopes her journey will show His glory.

Please keep praying for this remarkable young woman as she prepares for another surgery Monday and continues the long road of rehabilitation ahead.

Let’s make sure Julianna knows that the people who prayed her through those operating rooms are still here, cheering her forward.

**Disclaimer:** This post shares a family update about Julianna’s medical journey. Medical conditions, treatment plans, and recovery outcomes can vary, and this post is not intended as medical advice.

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