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Scottish Rite Hospital Patients Depart For Annual Amputee Ski Trip

by | Feb 13, 2019 | General News, Press Coverage

Fourteen amputee patients from Scottish Rite Hospital received a grand send-off this week at DFW airport as they departed for the hospital’s annual Amputee Ski Trip. Representatives from Scottish Rite Hospital, American Airlines and DFW International Airport threw a party for the patients prior to their flight to Denver. The teenagers will spend a week at the National Sports Center for the Disabled (NCSD) in Winter Park, Colorado, where they will learn to ski and snowboard despite their limb differences.

Several patients discussed their excitement for the trip with local media, while representatives from the hospital offered insight on the benefits the trip provides to the kids. The goal of the trip is to foster a sense of self-confidence, discovery and independence for the patients. Snow skiing is well suited for amputees and, with special equipment, they can quickly become competitive and often excel at the sport.

Watch coverage of the send-off party from FOX 4 and CBS 11.

Courageous Kid: Aspen Wilkinson

Courageous Kid: Aspen Wilkinson

by | Oct 17, 2017 | General News, Press Coverage

Every little gymnast has big dreams, but 8-year-old Aspen Wilkinson is no ordinary gymnast.

“Aspen is obviously a really brave and strong little girl who doesn’t stop ever!” said her mother, Mary Novas.

Aspen doesn’t let her prosthetic foot keep her from the sport she loves.

Three years ago, the budding athlete lost her right foot during a trip to see her grandparents.

“Riding on the lawnmower with her granddad was part of the fun with the trip, and when we pulled up, he happened to be mowing the yard,” Novas said.

“She couldn’t hear us yelling. He couldn’t hear her behind him, and he went to do a pivot and turn back up, and he just ran over her,” the girl’s mother said.

Aspen endured four surgeries and months of recovery, but all that time, Novas says Aspen’s main concern was returning to gymnastics.

Some days are tougher than others, but Aspen has a response for anyone who asks about her foot.

“I just say that I had an accident and I can do anything that anyone else can do,” Aspen said.

“I’m gonna get a better foot, and I really want to get one of the blades so then I can bounce around and it’s easier to balance,” she said.

Aspen had the majority of her care at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas, where she and her family share their story with other families dealing with similar situations.

Watch the full link here: https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Girl-Who-Lost-Foot-in-Accident-Has-Big-Gymnastics-Dreams-451305163.html