Eight representatives from Shriners Children’s, including several patient ambassadors, will be taking part in the 134th annual Rose Parade presented by Honda. The iconic parade, which draws hundreds of thousands of viewers and spectators each year, will take place on January 2 in Pasadena, California. This is the 12th consecutive year Shriners Children’s has taken part in the event.
This year’s float, titled “Back in the Game,” depicts Shriners Children’s patients’ joy in overcoming challenges and realizing their dreams. To represent their patients’ determination to get Back in the Game, the float depicts a young boy in a wheelchair playing basketball and a girl with a prosthetic leg on a putting green.
Among the float riders are National Patient Ambassadors Katherine and Parker, two young athletes who, with Shriners Children’s help, overcame devastating injuries in car accidents and returned to playing competitive sports. They are joined by Kenneth Craven, the CEO of Shriners International fraternity, his wife Jennifer, and honored guests from Shriners International and Shriners Children’s.
“Our float theme, Back in the Game, beautifully complements the 2023 Rose Parade’s theme, Turning a Corner,” said Craven. “For our patients, the medical journey is just that: a journey, not a destination. The journey may be filled with challenges, and each one overcome represents a milestone achieved and a corner turned. With resilience and determination, our patients are empowered to reach for their dreams, whatever they may be. Each obstacle they overcome puts our patients one step closer to getting Back in the Game and doing what they love.”
Shriners Children’s world-renowned medical team strives to help patients meet their own goals and spend time doing the activities they love. The nonprofit healthcare system offers opportunities for patients to try new things and play just as their peers do, through adaptive sports from wheelchair basketball camps to adaptive bicycling, rowing and more. In addition, Shriners Children’s Pediatric Orthotic and Prosthetic Services create custom prosthetics for kids to engage in all kinds of recreational activities, including running, jumping, dancing, martial arts, and creative endeavors such as playing musical instruments, sketching and painting.
[Source(s): Shriners Children’s, PRWeb]
