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I just wanted everyone to know about Shriners Hospitals for children. I have spent the last seven years working with them The organization is dedicated to children. There are a total of 20 hospitals in North America. They cater to child with:
Burns
Cleft lip and palate
spinal cord injury
Orthopeadics
There is NO charge to the parents. All treatments, equipment (braces, walkers, wheelchairs) are free. They provide transporation to and from appointments. Housing if needed
No other childrens hospital offers all of these benefits. Their goal is to fix what is wrong and provide the child with a happy and painfree life.
In 2007 Hurricane Ike damaged the Shriners in Galveston and it had to close. We were going to the Shriners in Houston and agreed to change appointments and wait longer so those patients from Galveston could be seen in Houston. I remember this distincntly because a young boy about 4 or 5 came in covered in burns. I was trying to smile at everyone, but to be honest most people turned away from him. Frances and I sat by him and his guardian and managed to speak despite the language barrier. His parents had gotten a divorce and the mother had been awarded custody. The father in a fit of anger had taken the boy and his two brothers for visitation. He set his home on fire with his children inside. The little boy I met was the only one to survive. He was found underneath the bodies of his older brothers. This young boy had spent the last year going through skin grafts over his face, chest, arms and what was left of his legs. Here he was trying to smile and talk. He wanted to play, yet none of the other children wanted to get near him because of his looks. My daughter had encountered that as well andmade me the proudest mother in the world. Somehow the two of them managed to communicate and pick games to play. For two years we would meet every Tuesday for our appointments and the kids would play. It was amazing watching them grow, be able to walk and talk.
This is why I ask you if you have a spare $5 , $10 or even $20. Please think of Shriners Hospitals for Children. They do such amazing work and without them I know that little boy never would have lived. Yes he will always be scarred but he has his life and his living it.
