Sarah Czapp, 6, is shown with Fezzie, the Shriners Hospitals for Children mascot, during a break in filming of the national Christmas commercial in August in St. Louis. Photo Provided

Jocelyn and George Czapp of Wheeling think their daughter, 6-year-old Sarah, may have a future in front of the camera after she appeared in three Shriners Hospitals for Children national commercials this year and was tapped as the Erie Shriners Hospital ambassador, appearing in newsletters and on the website and Christmas card.

“It think we’re going to be doing a lot more of this. I think this is her future,” said Jocelyn Czapp, who has been taking her daughter to Erie Shriners most of the girl’s life to receive treatment, therapy and prosthetics after Sarah was born inexplicably without a left leg, hip and lower spine.

The Czapps, who have two older boys, Garrett and Elijah, said they were told their daughter would never walk.

Sarah received her first prosthetic when she was 1 and since then has had five more as she has outgrown them.

She not only walks, but runs and dances. In fact, it’s her dancing that landed her in the national spotlight.

During her frequent trips to the Erie hospital, Sarah captured the hearts of the hospital employees.

In February, they chose her as their ambassador and asked Jocelyn Czapp for a video of Sarah’s first prosthetic-assisted steps. That video ended up as part of a montage in a national Shriners commercial called “First Steps” last spring.

When the producers discovered Sarah’s love of dancing — which she has been doing at Oglebay Institute since she was 2 — a spot featuring her story was put in motion.

A production team descended on the Czapps’ Warwood home and OI’s School of Dance for two days in May to shoot footage of Sarah for a commercial based solely on her story, called “You’re Gonna Dance.”

Sarah has appeared in numerous OI dance productions and even had the opportunity to take the Capitol Theatre stage on Wednesday night during the Spanish Dance scene in Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker.” She also is in Oglebay Institute’s “Nutcracker” performances.

In the “You’re Gonna Dance” commercial, scenes show a baby and a mother played by an actress, and then Sarah and her mother are shown doing everyday things such as coloring and brushing hair.

A voiceover actress says: “One day, you’re gonna walk, you’re gonna stand up all by yourself, you’re gonna jump and skip; I won’t be able to keep up with you. One day, you’re gonna spin and dance, just like a little ballerina. One day, you’re going to hop, skip and jump all the way down the sidewalk. One day, you are going to have no limits.”

The commercial then cuts to scenes of Sarah trying out a new prosthetic at Erie Shriners Hospital and then to Sarah in the OI dance studio in a light pink leotard, spinning, skipping and smiling. Several other Shriners patients appear in the second half of the commercial, and it ends with Jocelyn Czapp holding Sarah and thanking people for supporting the Shriners Hospitals.

“Because of the support of people like you, today my little girl can dance,” she says in the commercial.

The commercial began running nationally in August, just days before Sarah and Jocelyn flew to St. Louis to shoot the Christmas promotion, which started airing last week.

For the Christmas commercial, titled “Holiday Ballet,” a tutu-clad Sarah is the Sugar Plum Fairy in a “Nutcracker” scene, dancing a routine choreographed for her by OI’s dance director Cheryl Pompeo. The entire commercial features 30 children, and Jocelyn Czapp said the experience was life-changing for both her and Sarah.

“Sarah just met all these kids that were just like her,” Czapp said, getting choked up. “She just finally felt like she fit in. I didn’t want to leave.” She added she, too, found a support system among the other parents, with whom she still keeps in touch through texting and social media.

“All our kids’ disabilities are different, you know, and everybody has a story. It was a humbling experience,” she said. “These kids have so many problems, but when you look at them, they’re the happiest kids you’ll ever see.”

She recalled there was a boy with one arm dribbling a basketball, Sarah and two other children dancing, a boy with no arms skateboarding.

“It’s all because the Shriners believed in these kids,” she said, noting Shriners Hospitals do not charge families for any of the medical care they provide. “The Shriners have opened doors for us that we never dreamt were even possible.”

Sarah and her mom spent five days in St. Louis, with all expenses paid. Sarah was the second-youngest child there and came from farthest away, Czapp said. A local Shriner couple took them to a few of the top tourist attractions, including the Arch. They returned just before schools started in August.

The Christmas commercial is airing coast to coast on television stations including Fox and CBS. It and the other commercials Sarah was in can be found on YouTube and iSpot.tv.

While the cause of Sarah’s condition is unknown, Jocelyn Czapp continues to believe God has a purpose for Sarah.

“God’s using her to teach boys and girls they can do anything they want to do as long as they work hard at it,” she said.

So far, Sarah is taking all the attention in stride, her mother said.

“She’s just still Sarah. She’s just a happy, fun-loving 6-year-old who just wants to go to school and be like everybody else.”