Los Angeles Patient Rolls His Way to Basketball Title

Shriners Hospitals for Children – Los Angeles, CA – March 25, 2009 -

It was two years ago that current Shriners Hospitals for Children patient, Miguel Brown, then fifteen, awoke from a two month coma. He had been in a horrific automobile accident in his hometown of Culican, Mexico. The accident was so severe that one of his closest friends died at the scene and Miguel had to have his right leg amputated.
During his recuperation in the hospital, one of his nurses suggested that his family look into the care provided by the Shriners Hospitals for Children healthcare system. The nurse was also the mother of a Shriners Hospital patient and spoke very highly of the care that her child received in Los Angeles. Miguel’s father, a professor of architecture in Culican, related that, “Miguel was very despondent after the accident. He had always been very active in sports and school, but suddenly this all came to a stop. That’s why when we learned of the care provided at the Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles we had hope that he could once again be like any other teen.”
At his initial visit, Miguel and his parents met with Yoshio Setoguchi, M.D., Medical Director of the Hospital’s CAPP program. CAPP stands for Child Amputee Prosthetic Project and its focus is to assist children suffering from limb deficiencies, whether they are congenital (from birth) or acquired. Dr. Setoguchi had Miguel fitted with a prosthetic leg which was designed and manufactured in-house. Miguel then went through a rigorous rehabilitation program to re-learn to walk without assistance.
A part of his rehabilitation efforts was to join a local Culican wheelchair basketball team. Miguel loves being part of the team. He said in Spanish, “I always loved being involved in sports and now I get to play plenty.” His team has become so good that they recently won the Culican State Championship and are now practicing to compete against the Mexican National Wheelchair basketball team. But sports aren’t Miguel’s only focus. He is currently in the planning stages of applying to colleges. He is an excellent student and plans on taking his college entrance exam in May of this year. However, even after he graduates from high school, Miguel plans to stay on the team for the foreseeable future.
Miguel still travels regularly with his father to Los Angeles to have his prosthetic limb adjusted. Every three months they fly from their home in Culican to Tijuana. They are then picked up by volunteers from the San Diego Al Bahr Shrine Center and transported to the Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles. Says his father, “We are very grateful for the treatment that Miguel has received through Shriners Hospital. I can see the difference in his personality and it’s truly amazing. He’s been through a rollercoaster of emotions for the last two years and I’m very thankful to the Shriners for their support.”