Garfield Heights softball team honors memory of 5-year-old fan [Video]

Skylar O’Neal was diagnosed with brain cancer at just 3 years old and passed away surrounded by family. On Friday, the Bulldogs played in her memory.

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — It’s batter up on the field at Garfield Heights Middle School, but the kids aren’t going for glory today. Instead of celebrating a victory, they’re celebrating the life of a 5-year-old girl.

“Last year, we had lost a young girl, Skylar O’Neal, from a rare form of brain cancer,” Kurt Mariola, head varsity softball coach at Garfield Heights High School, said.

Skylar O’Neal often practiced her best imitations of her favorite cartoon characters from “Paw Patrol,” but at just 3 years old, she was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of cancer affecting soft tissue in the body. For Skylar, it formed inside her brain.

“The hospital was basically our second home,” Skylar’s mother Kristina O’Neal told us. “We …

Tags Brain Cancer, Brain Tumors