Greater Cleveland Sports Awards

JIM DONOVAN COURAGE AWARD

2025 Jim Donovan Courage Award presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine Recipient - Myles Grimmett

15-year-old Elyria High School basketball player Myles Grimmett is being recognized for his extraordinary perseverance and determination. Nearly a decade after undergoing a pioneering surgery at Cleveland Clinic that used a bone from his leg to reconstruct his arm following bone cancer, Myles will receive the Jim Donovan Courage Award presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine at the 26th Greater Cleveland Sports Awards, presented by Ancora and Minutemen Workforce Solutions, on Feb. 5, 2026, at Rocket Arena. 

At age 5, Myles was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and aggressive bone cancer located just below his right shoulder. His medical team at Cleveland Clinic — including orthopaedic surgeon Nathan Mesko, MD, plastic surgeon Graham Schwarz, MD, and pediatric oncologist Peter Anderson, MD — faced a difficult question: amputate the arm or find a way to save both the limb and its function. 

They chose innovation. Using a “free fibula transplant,” the surgeons removed most of Myles’s fibula — a non-weight-bearing bone from his leg — and transplanted it into his arm to replace the diseased portion of bone. The procedure, which preserved blood vessels and nerves, allowed the transplanted bone to grow and function as part of his upper arm. 

“The fibula is one of the redundant features of the body, so we can ‘borrow’ it when we need to,” said Dr. Mesko, section head of Orthopaedic Oncology at Cleveland Clinic. “It’s incredible what Myles has been able to do. If you’d asked me when he was 5 what would be possible for him, I couldn’t have imagined this.” 

Following months of chemotherapy and a challenging recovery, Myles broke his reconstructed arm in an accident but recovered with resilience and determination. Over time, he adapted by learning to dribble and shoot basketball with his left hand. Today, Myles is a guard on the Elyria High School basketball team and plays for an AAU travel league. 

Aside from minor numbness in his left ankle, his leg functions normally, and his right arm continues to grow along with the rest of his body. 

Dr. Mesko keeps a drawing that Myles made when he was 5 — depicting the “journey” his fibula made from leg to arm — hanging in his office as a daily reminder of resilience and creativity in medicine. “Kids are incredibly resilient,” Dr. Mesko added. “One of the most rewarding parts of my job is finding creative ways to help them live full, active lives — just like Myles.” 

Myles’s story and spirit will be celebrated publicly when he accepts the Jim Donovan Courage Award presented by Cleveland Clinic Sports Medicine, which is given annually to an athlete or individual who has demonstrated exceptional bravery and perseverance in the face of adversity. 

PAST COURAGE AWARD RECIPIENTS:

2024: Josiah Saunders , Avon High School, Football
2023: Olivia Slivinski, Avon Lake High School, Swimming
2022: Maya Austerman, Avon Lake High School, Basketball
2021: Robbie Boyce, St. Ignatius High School
2020: Camryn Colahan, Vermilion, Volleyball, Basketball and Track & Field
2019: Skylar Scarnecchia, Champion Township, Basketball and Track & Field 
2018: Sophia Pecjak, Mentor, Soccer & Basketball
2017: Samer Babi, North Olmsted, Football 
2016: Kendra Seitz, Competitive Swimming
2015: Colin Teets, Westlake, Hockey
2014: Nick Lenyo, Huron, Football
2013: Courteney Belmonte, Westlake, Competitive Cheerleading 
2012: Molly Miller, Notre Dame Academy, Soccer
2011: Brandee Kelly, Cleveland State University, Basketball 
2010: Olivia Warhop, Hathaway Brown School, Swimming & Soccer
2009: Gyasi Cooper, St. Ignatius High School, Track & Field 
2008: Eric Anderson, Jr., Gilmour Academy, Basketball