(NEXSTAR) - U.S. para snowboarder Brenna Huckaby is preparing to compete in Italy this winter with the opportunity to become the most decorated female athlete in the history of her sport. Huckaby is a mother to two daughters, Lilah and Sloan. She described motherhood as her "why" and a central motivation for her athletic career. "I say that my priority is competing but really my priority in that moment is modeling great behavior for them and what following your dreams looks like," Huckaby said. "For what being brave looks like, having strong mental health and mindset is. While my action is snowboarding in that moment, I'm still doing everything for them." When she was 14, Huckaby was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. The diagnosis led to the loss of her right leg. Now a cancer survivor, Huckaby uses her platform to advocate for disability inclusion and representation, citing a lack of visible role models during her own recovery. Huckaby was the first Paralympic athlete featured in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Though she initially had reservations about the project, she said she wanted to provide the representation she lacked as a teenager. "Originally, I wasn't gonna do it, I was scared, absolutely no way," Huckaby said. "Then I thought back to my 14-year-old self, who lost my leg, and I thought, 'I'm unworthy, unlovable,' all the negative things most women have thought about themselves. And what made the difference when I went through cancer? I never saw anyone in the media that looked like me and was celebrated in a way of being beautiful, sexy and worthy." Through her work as an advocate, Huckaby said she has been able to process her own journey. "I healed that 14-year-old version of myself that didn't feel worthy enough," she said. Huckaby is scheduled to compete this winter in Italy, where she could break the record for the most gold medals in her sport. "I'm currently tied for the most golds in Paralympic snowboard history, so it would be really cool to break that, but also it's outside of my control, so we'll see what happens," Huckaby said.The Paralympic Games are scheduled to begin March 6. All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by Nexstar. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by Nexstar staff before being published