Dallas Morning News: Texas teenage amputees find friendship, support on the slopes of Colorado

Dallas Morning News: Texas teenage amputees find friendship, support on the slopes of Colorado

by | Feb 12, 2018 | Events, Press Coverage

Read original article and see video here.

Diana Lopez was born without a right leg, but she doesn’t let that keep her from having fun. Even when she fell down last year while on her first ski trip to Colorado, the 16-year-old still found a way to enjoy herself.

And the Garland teen is expecting that same excitement this year as she and 13 other young amputees travel back to Winter Park, Colo., for another ski trip.

“You might fall, but you’re going to laugh and get back up,” Lopez said. “And you’re going to have all of your friends right there with you.”

Lopez and the other teenagers left DFW International Airport on Monday for Colorado as part of the 37th annual ski trip organized by Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. They will receive one-on-one instruction during the weeklong trip, which is financed by American Airlines, Saint Bernard and other donors.

Henry Ellis, a Texas Scottish Rite orthopedic surgeon, said the trip not only helps the teens face and overcome challenges, but it also connects them with others dealing with similar struggles.

“You find that the kids start feeding off each other and learn how to deal with different parts of their normal daily activities that they never thought they could, and it’s because they had never been around another kid who is an amputee,” said Ellis, who tagged along on the venture. “So they really grow inside, emotionally and mentally, and come up with ways to deal with struggles that they have by talking and learning about it.”

Capt. Jim Dees, Director of Flight with American Airlines, center, talks with Diana Lopez, 16, left, and Alfonso Apodaca, 15, teenage amputee patients from Scottish Rite Hospital, during a ceremony at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.(Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)
Capt. Jim Dees, Director of Flight with American Airlines, center, talks with Diana Lopez, 16, left, and Alfonso Apodaca, 15, teenage amputee patients from Scottish Rite Hospital, during a ceremony at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.
(Jae S. Lee/DMN Staff Photographer)

Ellis said many of the teens become friends and continue to keep in touch long after their initial meeting.

‘It’s just really inspiring’

Alfonso Apodaca said he met Lopez on last year’s ski trip and the two have since kept in touch through Snapchat. As he waited at DFW on Monday to board the group’s American Airlines flight, the 15-year-old Bedford youngster said he was excited to make new friends.

That’s vastly different from how he felt this time a year ago. As he prepared for that excursion, the L. D. Bell High School sophomore said he was concerned about going  on a trip with strangers.  But he said it didn’t take him long to get comfortable around the other youngsters.

“It’s definitely a welcomed space,” Apodaca said.  “It’s amazing hearing others stories and how they feel the same way as you, and it’s really great because where I’m from, we don’t have other kids with prosthetics at school. To see other kids feel that way, it’s just really inspiring.”

Cody McCasland, of Keller, Texas, 16, walks into the gate to board an American Airlines jet at  DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)
Cody McCasland, of Keller, Texas, 16, walks into the gate to board an American Airlines jet at  DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.
(Jae S. Lee/DMN Staff Photographer)

Olivia Coats, a high school freshman from Austin, will be skiing for the first time this year. Born without the lower part of her right leg, she uses a prosthetic leg to get around.

“She’s been excited about this trip since she was 3 years old,” said her mother, Carissa Smith, who brought her daughter to the airport. “She’s read all about the trip since then.”  

Although she was looking forward to the trip, Coats admitted that she was nervous to go down the snowy slopes.

“I just don’t want to fall and break my face,” the 14-year-old said, laughing.

Cody McCasland of Keller, who is making his second trip to Colorado after initially going in 2016, said he hoped to encourage first-timers like Coats to embrace skiing, even if they may have trouble learning at first.

“You can’t give up after your first fall,” said McCasland, 16. “You have to get up and keep going again. It doesn’t matter how you fall. It matters how you get back up.”

An American Airlines jet carrying 14 teenage amputee patients from Scottish Rite Hospital on a ski trip receives the "shower of affection" on ramp upon departure to Colorado at  DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. (Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer)
An American Airlines jet carrying 14 teenage amputee patients from Scottish Rite Hospital on a ski trip receives the “shower of affection” on ramp upon departure to Colorado at  DFW Airport, Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.
(Jae S. Lee/DMN Staff Photographer)

A way to bond

Dr. Tony Herring, another Scottish Rite orthopedic surgeon, said Monday that he never imagined the trips he started in 1981 as a way for teen amputees to have a good time, would help lead to building long-lasting friendships.

“It just sort of happened that kids started talking and telling each other stories,” Herring said.

He said many of those who go on the trips often don’t have anyone else around them who they can share similar experiences with. The ski trips help them bond with others who are dealing with the same situations.

“The kids will start telling stories about things that have happened to them, like how they were playing basketball and their leg came off or what they are challenged with,” he said. “That’s almost more important than the skiing itself.”

Dallas Morning News: Bragging rights on the line during next month’s BMW Dallas Marathon

Dallas Morning News: Bragging rights on the line during next month’s BMW Dallas Marathon

by | Nov 25, 2017 | Events, Press Coverage

Read original story here.

Lorena Floccari hopes she and her four Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children co-Fellows can halt a 13-year losing streak against the hospital’s orthopedic staff in a deep-rooted competition involving next month’s BMW Dallas Marathon.

This marks the 20th year that the staff and its Dorothy and Bryan Edwards Fellowship in Pediatric Orthopedics and Scoliosis recipients have fielded five-person relay teams. The Cox School of Business Relays are held in conjunction with the Dec. 10 marathon and half marathon.

“It’s grown to be an expectation,” said the hospital’s chief of staff, Dr. Dan Sucato, one of the staff relay members. “The camaraderie it engenders is really strong. It allows people to come together under the guise of competition. It’s all about generating enthusiasm and support for the hospital, the community and the marathon.”

The hospital, the primary race beneficiary, has received $4 million from the marathon since the partnership began in 1997.

Each August, the hospital welcomes its five Fellows to work alongside its attending staff and to participate in extracurricular activities. Floccari remembers learning about the marathon relay while interviewing as a fourth-year resident at the Mayo Clinic. She said opportunities to bond with the staff and the other Fellows through such events helped persuade her to accept the Dallas fellowship.

“There’s more of a community feel here than any other program,” she said following a training run at the hospital. “It sets you up well for everything to come when you have these relationships with your mentors.”

The Fellows have beaten the staff only once, back in 2002. That year, one of the Fellows was a former Navy SEAL. He rallied the group, which consisted of numerous other athletes including an ultramarathoner, a former NCAA Division I soccer player, a college baseball player and a woman who was an Olympic hammer throw participant, recalled Dr. Tony Riccio, the staff team captain.

There were a few years the Fellows should have won, according to lore, such as the year the staff used a ringer or in 2005, when one of the Fellows needed a ride to the relay exchange location. The staff member responsible was late, and the Fellows lost a big lead.

The 2017-18 Fellows, who range in age from about 28 to 32, are all athletes. Dustin Greenhill, an All-American gymnast at West Point, started running while serving in the Army. Jeff Peck, a four-sport high school athlete who played intramurals at Northwestern, has run the 12-person, 200-mile Hood to Coast relay multiple times. Surya Mundluru played NCAA Division I tennis at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Ian “Corky” Corcoran-Schwartz played baseball and rugby at Johns Hopkins.

And then there’s Floccari, a former pitcher for the Saint Louis University softball team, who has completed several half marathons.

Most of the staff’s team members, who range in age from about 40 to 68, were former Fellows, and they have run the relay many times, said Dr. Riccio, a staff orthopedic surgeon and avid cross fitter. Dr. Sucato participated as a staff member the first year of the competition.

Others include Dr. Philip Wilson, assistant chief of staff and director of the Center for Excellence in Sports Medicine, who competes in cutting horse events; Dr. John Birch, assistant chief of staff smeritus, an avid soccer player and long-distance runner; and Dr. Henry Ellis, a staff orthopedic surgeon and competitive skier, who has worked as a physician for the U.S. Olympic Ski Team.

Floccari said she and her co-Fellows have become more focused as race day approaches.

“We weren’t taking it as seriously until we found out the history and that the staff wins every year,” she said. “We’ve been ramping up our training. We’ve been doing some strategizing.”

Michael – BMW Dallas Marathon Patient Champion

Michael – BMW Dallas Marathon Patient Champion

by | Nov 16, 2017 | Events

Since 2007, the Patient Champion program has enlisted Scottish Rite Hospital patients to help encourage
and cheer on runners in the BMW Dallas Marathon. This program is a way to highlight some of the
wonderful kids the marathon generously supports each year. We’re excited to introduce you to Michael!

Michael, age 16, of Mesquite, has been treated at both our fracture clinic and our Center for Excellence in Hand, where Christopher Stutz, M.D., and the rest of the expert team treated his fractured finger. As both an outside linebacker and a running back for the Mesquite Skeeters Football Team, making a full recovery was of the utmost importance to this dedicated athlete.

“Everyone is caring, understanding, and wants to help you,” says Michael in regards to the staff at Scottish Rite Hospital. “They do everything they can to get you back to doing the things that you love.”

Michael loves football, and being able to play again was of the utmost importance to him. His determination on the football field will translate well into his aspirations of becoming a stockbroker.

Although Michael won’t be competing in the race this year, he’ll likely be “carb-loading” with his favorite meal, spaghetti. He’ll need the energy to cheer on the Dallas Marathon runners on Sunday, Dec. 10.

We invite you to join our team of fundraisers on behalf of Patient Champions like Michael and all the patients of Scottish Rite Hospital through our marathon fundraising page.

For more event information, visit: bmwdallasmarathon.com.

Dallas Morning News: Big crowd expected for Scottish Rite fundraiser on Thursday

Dallas Morning News: Big crowd expected for Scottish Rite fundraiser on Thursday

by | Oct 13, 2017 | Events, Press Coverage

Original article can be read here. 

Scottish Rite Hospital is gearing up for its signature Treasure Street fundraiser on Thursday.

Niven Morgan and Shelby Wagner are the co-chairs of the Texan-themed evening, and Ginny and Randy Bailey are the honorary chairs.

About 1,000 people are expected to stroll the pediatric hospital’s grounds, bid on auction items and sample drinks and bites donated by area restaurants, including Campisi’s, Haystack Burgers & Barley, Mesero, Matt’s Rancho Martinez, Parigi and Paul Martin’s American Grill.

Supporters include:

$50,000: Central Market.

$25,000: Charlie and Moll Anderson Family Foundation, Ginny and Randy Bailey, Bullion, Anne Davidson, Margot and Ross Perot, Carolyn and Dr. Karl Rathjen, Thompson & Knight Foundation and Thompson & Knight LLP.

$15,000: Leo & Rhea Fay Fruhman Foundation, Hall Arts Residences, Carol and Jeff Heller, Al G. Hill Jr. family, Suzanne and Patrick McGee, MedNetwoRx, Park Place Volvo and Annette Simmons.

$10,000: Lydia and Bill Addy, Della and Bob Best, Kristen Brent Venable and Jeffery Bradley, Dee and Dodge Carter in honor of Nicole Carter, Bitsy and Harold Carter, Chefs’cq Produce Co., Eisemanfamilies/Eiseman Jewels, Claire and Dwight Emanuelson, Sue Gragg Precious Jewels, Denise and Bill Lindquist, Sharon and Lanny Martin,Niven Morgan and Shelby Wagner, B.K. and Mark Sloan, Trinity Industries Inc., United Healthcare, Watson Wise Foundation and Westwood Holdings Inc.

$5,000: Susan and Stephen Butt, Cindy and Terry Carpenter, Serena and Tom Connelly, Mille and Ken Cooper, Costello family, Crow Holdings, Joan and Thomas Dudley,

Dr. Pam Nurenberg and Dr. David Ewalt, Stanford C. & Mary Clare Finney Foundation, Sharon and Bobby Floyd, Jane and Mark Gibson, Toddy and Greg Glosser, Graham Investments Inc., Lyda Hill, Hodges Funds, Nancy Perot and Rod Jones, Mary and Larry Lange, Origin Bank, Pioneer Natural Resources, Katherine and Eric Reeves and Kathy and John Yeaman.

$2,500: Sue and Pryor Blackwell, Lisa and Nick Chapman, Ashlee and Zack Cherry, Kay and Robert Dozier, Gwen and Leldon Echols, Louise Eiseman, Leslie and Brian Ficke, Kammy and Andy Fleck, Amanda and Mark Francis, Joanne and John Hare, Julie and Ed Hawes, Stephen C. Hurley, Jackson Walker LLP, Joan and Marvin Lane, Muffin and John Lemak, LKS Foundation/Lisa K. Simmons, Sandra Lynne McKinzie, Lark and J. C. Montgomery Jr., Heidi and Mike Pickens, Pure Spa and Salon, Jeff W. Smith, Southwestern Medical Foundation/UT Southwestern Medical Center, Mary and Mike Terry, Janet and Joe Tydlaska, Jane and Dr. Robert Viere, Pat and Robert L. Walker, Libby and Jeff Walter, and Jean H. and John T. Walter Jr.

Buy $100 tickets at community.tsrhc.org/tstickets.

Announcing the 2017 Accessible Luxury Chairs

Announcing the 2017 Accessible Luxury Chairs

by | Feb 17, 2017 | Events

Accessible Luxury 2017 is pleased to announce this year’s Chairs, Emily Ray-Porter, Zac Porter and Cullen Potts.

After falling in love with the concept of Royal Blue in Austin, co-owners Emily Ray-Porter, Zac Porter and Cullen Potts brought this fabulous grocery store to Dallas in the fall of 2015. The boutique grocer offers everyday essentials, gourmet goodies, Stumptown coffee bar and great wines. Its charming setting has quickly earned itself an irreplaceable spot in Park Cities culture.

Emily Ray-Porter is a highly sought-after real estate professional with Dave Perry-Miller Real Estate. For the past six years, Emily has been recognized through Dave Perry-Miller and D Magazine for her sales production and dedication to her clients. Emily is passionate about her work with Family Legacy and Naomi’s Village, two organizations dedicated to caring for orphan children in Africa.

Zac Porter is a founding partner of Viceroy Realty Advisors, which provides advisory services and development consulting for mixed-use and high-street properties. Zac is active in the Dallas community and is currently a part of the prestigious Leadership Dallas – Class of 2017. He is past president of Dallas Roundtable and a board member with Uptown Dallas, Inc.

Cullen Potts works as a proprietor of Capital Institutional Services, Inc., an independent brokerage firm founded in 1977. Additionally, he is a real estate investor and serves as director of Family Business Affairs and board director for Capital Institutional Services.

For more information about Accessible Luxury, please visit its website.