Stampede for Shriners Hospital

Haines Stampede Rodeo

HAINES - The Haines Stampede Rodeo opens Saturday at 10 a.m. with benefit team roping. Proceeds from the event go to the Shriners Hospital of Children in Portland. Cost is $2 at the gate.
Rodeo action will fill the arena Sunday at 5:30 p.m. and Monday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $7 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12 and free for those 5 and under.

Monday's activities also feature a parade at 10 a.m., vendors in the park and a barbecue. Rodeo court tryouts follow the rodeo performance and fireworks are at dusk.

After the July 4 show, people are encouraged to stick around for the Cowboy Music Showdown. Local and professional talent will sing old cowboy songs. A fireworks show will begin at dusk.

4th of July where will you be?

Hers are some of the Shrine Events & Parades I have been given. If your parade or event is not listed let us know, add a comment.
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The Carson Valley Shrine Club has also entered the 4th of July parade in Virginia City. We will line up for this parade at 11 AM at the 4th Ward School, 528 South C Street. The parade will start at 12 noon. The Virginia City Masonic Lodge will be serving lunch following this parade.
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4TH OF JULY  PANCAKE BREAKFAST  Presented by Stagecraft
FERNLEY MASONIC HALL  40 WEST STREET
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137th Imperial Session      July 3-7, Denver, CO
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Ben Ali Shrine KEYSTONE COPS FUND RAISER - FIREWORKS SALES - ELK GROVE
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El Zaribah Shriners Mted. Patrol will be in Prescot July2 for the Parade
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Ballut Abyad Shrine has parades on July 2 in many parts of the state.
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El Katif Shrine has July 4th Parades in, Washtucna, Grand Ole Fourth-Pasco, Smokiam Days - Soap Lake, Summer Festival - Colfax.
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Masada Shrine  will be at the Toppenish  Parade July 4th. and at Imperial Session.
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Firefighters give check to Shriners Hospital for Children

Firefighters in Yuba and Sutter counties presented a check Monday for $40,000 to Shriners Hospitals for Children-Northern California, the region's biggest and busiest pediatric burn center.
The money was raised by the Linda and Marysville Fireman's Associations, working with colleagues from the Marysville-Yuba City area.
The donation was accepted by Dr. David Greenhalgh, chief of burn surgery at Shriners Hospital in Sacramento.
Shriners Hospitals for Children provides a vital service to all residents in the region, said Linda Fire Capt. Tim Taylor in a statement.
"We are proud to support an organization that helps so many," he said.

Shriners Hospitals for Children will receive the prestigious Scientific Leadership Award.

Shriners Hospitals for Children and Oregon Health & Science University to Host 27th Annual National Marfan Foundation Conference, July 14-17, 2011

Shriners Hospitals for Children to Receive Scientific Leadership Award at July 16 Awards Luncheon

We are happy to bring our conference back to the Pacific Northwest so our members in this part of the country can participate more easily. I’m sure they will find it is a life-changing experience.

Port Washington, NY (PRWEB) June 22, 2011

Shriners Hospitals for Children and Oregon Health & Science University are co-hosting the 27th Annual National Marfan Foundation(NMF) Conference on July 14-17, 2011. The NMF Annual Conference enables people with Marfan syndrome and related connective tissue disorders, and their families, to meet leading Marfan syndrome researchers and physicians and learn about new medical and genetic research firsthand. At the Conference, the NMF will celebrate 30 years since its inception.
On July 16, at the NMF awards luncheon to be held at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront, Shriners Hospitals for Children will receive the Foundation’s prestigious Scientific Leadership Award. Shriners is being recognized for its patient care and research accomplishments and for its ongoing commitment to the basic science that will lead to a better life for people with Marfan syndrome and related disorders in the future.
Lynn Sakai, PhD, Senior Investigator, Portland Shriners Research Center, and Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, is spearheading the conference initiative. A member of the NMF’s Professional Advisory Board since 1997, Dr. Sakai is a leading Marfan syndrome researcher whose work laid the foundation for the identification of fibrillin, the culprit in Marfan syndrome, and led to advanced work that pointed to the candidate gene for Marfan syndrome.
More than 400 individuals, primarily affected people and their families, are expected to attend the conference to learn about Marfan syndrome and related disorders and network with other people with these conditions.
“The NMF is looking forward to a very successful conference this year in Portland, where so much of the seminal research for the understanding of Marfan syndrome has been conducted,” said NMF President and CEO Carolyn Levering. “We are happy to bring our conference back to the Pacific Northwest so our members in this part of the country can participate more easily. I’m sure they will find it is a life-changing experience.”
NMF Conference has Family Focus
The NMF Annual Conference begins with evaluation days on July 14-15 when people who have a diagnosis or suspect that they have Marfan syndrome or a related connective tissue disorder can be evaluated by medical experts from all over the country (by appointment only). The “health fair” offers people who do not have access to medical experts at home an opportunity to be evaluated by knowledgeable doctors from the host institutions and other leading Marfan syndrome clinics around the country. Echocardiography and eye exams will be conducted by OHSU physicians and staff on July 14, and orthopedic and genetic evaluations will be conducted at Shriners Hospitals for Children on July 15.
General conference sessions are on July 16, with medical presentations and a panel discussion led by researchers and physicians who have special expertise in Marfan syndrome and related disorders. They will address a range of topics, including cardiac, orthopedic, pulmonary and ophthalmic issues, cardiac surgery in adults and children, and pain management.
After the general plenary session, conference attendees can attend small-group workshops about specific medical concerns led by physicians and other medical professionals. On July 17, workshops about psycho-social concerns will be offered.
To make it easier for affected individuals and families, the NMF offers conference scholarships, which are funded by the NMF membership through three funds: the Heaney Angels Fund, Weiss Scholarship Fund and Julie Kurnitz Memorial Fund. Awards are based on financial need and priority is given to those who do not have access to specialty Marfan care at home and have never attended an NMF Conference before.
The National Marfan Foundation is grateful for the generous support of the conference from Andersen Construction, Bank of the West, Beattie Charitable Trust, Chetco Shrine Club, Klamath Falls Shrine Club, OHSU Foundation, Rose City Camp No. 77, Sherman Jr./Sr. High School and Union County Shrine Club.
Marfan Syndrome and the National Marfan Foundation
Marfan syndrome is a potentially fatal genetic disorder of connective tissue. Marfan syndrome and related connective tissue disorders affect approximately 200,000 Americans. Because connective tissue makes up the entire body, the disorder manifests itself in many body systems, including the skeletal system, eyes, lungs, blood vessels and heart. Many people with Marfan syndrome and several of the related disorders experience an expansion of the aorta. Without proper monitoring and medications to reduce the stress on the aorta, affected people are at high risk for aortic dissection or rupture, which could result in sudden death.
Studies about the increased life expectancy for people with Marfan syndrome provide great hope and optimism, but only through increased awareness, earlier diagnosis and proper treatment can people with the disorder expect to live a normal life span.
The NMF was founded in 1981 to provide accurate and timely information about the disorder to patients, family members and physicians; to serve as a resource for medical information and patient support; and to support and foster research.
To obtain additional information about the conference and to register, please call the NMF at 800-8-MARFAN or visit the NMF on line at http://www.marfan.org.

Boy who lost his legs keeps chasing his dreams

By Nkoyo Iyamba

SALT LAKE CITY -- For many kids, summer is a time to play and be active. That's exactly what it will be like for a Utah boy who has spent his life without legs.

Twelve-year-old Hunter Woodhall was born without a calf bone in his left leg, and his right ankle was fused at the joint. So when he was about a year old, his parents brought him to Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City where doctors amputated both his legs.

Hunter Woodhall was born without a calf bone in his left leg, and his right ankle was fused at the joint.

That's really when he started to move.

Today, Hunter has two sets of special prosthetics, one for everyday use and the other for sports. He's a bit of a sports fanatic.
"I like to play football and basketball. Those are my two favorite sports," he said. "I run in 5K's pretty often. I'm going to be running in the Summer Olympics, Summer Games."
Hunter's doctor Peter Springs says children seem to have the advantage when dealing with losing arms or legs as opposed to adults.
"He's sort of unique in the sense that he's missing both of his legs and yet at the same time, he's super athletic," he said. "Adults they have to cope with what they're missing. With a kid, you give ‘em something really young, and they'll pull a stand like any other kid. They'll start cruising around sofas and coffee tables, running or walking, all those sorts of things naturally. And they'll just do whatever they can with what they're given."
It's a life lesson Hunter's mom Barb Woodhall tries to teach her son.

"I run in 5K's pretty often," Hunter said. "I'm going to be running in the Summer Olympics, Summer Games."

"With any disability that anyone has, I think 90 percent of that is attitude," she said. "We've never treated him as a handicapped person. We've just treated him as a normal kid."

Hunter is realistic about his limitations, but he maintains a great attitude about his challenges.
"I can't do some things, like I can't jump as high as a lot of kids and I can't wiggle my toes," he said. "It can be a struggle sometimes but at other times it can be really fun and enjoyable."
At Shriners Hospital in Salt Lake City, an average of 200 prosthetics and 3,200 orthotics devices are fitted for children each year. That's about 11 repairs per month for kids like Hunter.
Shriners and the Salt Lake City Police Department are teaming Saturday, June 25, to hold a free screening clinic to identify other kids like Hunter who have lost their limbs and may be good candidates for prosthetics. The clinic will be held at at Pioneer Precinct, 1040 W. 700 South in Salt Lake City from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Email: niyamba@ksl.com

North Dakota Standing Tall

 Shriners help Watford City teen through tough growth spurt

By Jacob Brooks, Williston Herald

Jacob Brooks | Williston Herald Kira Kostad, 17, is about to enter her senior year at Watford City High School. She will do so after battling with kyphosis for the past five years.

Watford City teenager Kira Kostad is feeling good and walking tall, but it wasn't always so. Kira, 17, is on the tail end of a five-year journey that has taken her back and forth to Minnesota for medical treatment and a surgery that completely rebuilt her spine with dozens of titanium rods.

It all started when Kira was 12 years old, and her parents and friends noticed a curvature in the girl's spine.

"It got really bad," said Kira's mother, Tina Kostad.

Kira was eventually diagnosed with a type of kyphosis, a condition that causes the spine to grow irregularly and can have lifelong painful effects.

While Kira's condition was not causing her pain, she was noticeably walking at an ever-increasing angle, her mother said. When she was 13, she had to wear a body brace to try and keep the condition in check.

The brace was a heavy, cumbersome device that Kira had to wear to school and everywhere else. In the last five years, wearing that brace was probably the most difficult part of the whole ordeal.

But things changed when Tina Kostad noticed an ad in the Williston Herald that representatives of Shriners Hospital for Children in Minneapolis would be in Bismarck for consultation.

Things took off from there, and doctors discovered Kira had Scheuermann's kyphosis, which can occur in children and growing teenagers, and can be corrected with surgery.

Normally, a surgery of this type would cost tens of thousands of dollars or more in medical expenses — a cost that would be hard to come by for Tina Kostad, an elementary school lunch lady, and her husband, who were also raising two other children.

But at the Shriner's Hospital, all expenses were paid. And the Williston Shrine Club provided the transportation costs to and from the Twin Cities, Tina Kostad said.

The Shriners is a fraternal organization recognized for its social and philanthropic activities.

"With the Shriners, we knew she would be well taken care of," Tina Kostad said.

Still, the decision to get the surgery was not easy. Even though she walked at an angle, Kira felt fine. She could walk, run, play with dogs and do everything else she normally did.

"That was probably the hardest part, because to her, everything was fine," Tina Kostad said.

It was a tough call, but the family decided to go through with the surgery, which occurred in February 2009.

Kira had to stay in the hospital about 10 days afterwards, and on the way back to Watford City had to lay on an inflatable bed in the back of the car.

Full recovery took about a year, and there are still some things Kira can never do, such as ride roller coasters.

But she's OK with that. As she prepares to enter her senior year at Watford City High School, she will have no problem doing the things she enjoys such as reading, drawing, hanging out with friends and playing with dogs.

And she will be looking good and standing tall while she does it.

Tina Kostad said the journey would have been much more difficult without the Shriners.

"We would never have had the care that we had," she said. "Thank you is never enough."

 

Gardnerville,NV. Sand volleyball tourney to raise money for Shriners

by Joey Crandall

Sometimes a story just kind of jumps up and grabs your heart.

Such was the case for local fitness trainer Kelly Salazar, who had two seperate clients come in during the last year who endured spinal cord injuries either directly or within their family.

In both cases, Shriners Hospitals for Children — a network of 22 nonprofit hospitals across North America the provides treatment regardless of the patients' ability to pay — played a role in the recovery.

“A lot of people don't know exactly what Shriners is,” Salazar said. “I'm 47 years old and I didn't know the magnitude of what they do until I heard about these children.

“Hearing their stories, it was heart-wrenching. I don't know exactly what it was, but it was something that really stuck with me.”

Salazar and her husband had been talking about hosting a barbecue and setting up some sand volleyball courts on their property.

“We just thought, if we were going to do it, we should do it for a cause,” Salazar said. “I wanted to help bring awareness to Shriners and also raise some money for it as well.

So they scheduled the Spike for Shriners Sand Volleyball Tournament for Saturday June 25 with a 9 a.m. check-in and 10 a.m. tournament start. It will be at 1509 Ortega Way, which is off of Lombardy Road (turn right off of Buckeye past East Valley Cemetery.

“It could be a one-day tournament, or go as long as two days, depending on how many teams we get,” Salazar said. “We'll have a DJ all day and hopefully into the night and a silent auction and raffle.”

Cost for registration is $30 per person (four-person teams). All players will receive a visor and dinner with their entry fee. Admission for spectators is $10, with dinner costing an additional $10.

Salazar said RV and tent sites were also available.

“Getting to know what these kids and their parents have gone through in their injuries, it has really touched me. Hopefully this will be a fun day where the kids can tell their stories and we can show our support for Shriners as a community.

“There will be representatives from Shriners in Sacramento, some nurses. We're hoping for some club teams to participate. It should be a lot of fun.”

To register for the tournament, visit www.energizestudios.com/volleyball.