| | Shriners Hospitals Keep Helping Kids
 by Theresa Uchytil
n March 14, I left Davenport, Iowa and flew to Boston to embark upon a journey of a lifetime: visiting all 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children in North America. This Tour was a dream come true for me, and it was made possible by CampusLink, an educational media company, well known for its custom information centers located in universities across the country. Together with OneTravel.com, the definitive website for the traveler on a budget, my tour of all Shriners Hospitals in North America became a reality!
I worked with CampusLink while I was a Program Manager for Gateway Computers Higher Education sales and marketing team. (I am currently on a leave of absence from Gateway to fulfill my duties as Miss Iowa). When I approached Matthew Dinnerman, the President of CampusLink, to sponsor all of my flights to the 22 hospitals, he said yes on the spot. CampusLink not only believes in my mission as Miss Iowa but also believes in the goals and objectives set forth by the Shriners Hospitals for Children. They provide free health care to children 0-18 in need of prosthetic and orthotic treatment, spinal cord injury care, and burn patient treatment. This tour was especially significant for me, because I am a former patient of the Twin Cities hospital in Minneapolis, MN (i.e. I was born with out a left hand). In it's totality, the my tour of all 22 Shriners Hospitals in North America was comprised of approximately 37 flights, endless delays at numerous different airports across the United States, Canada and Mexico, all of which took place between March 15-30! It was a very memorable, rewarding and quite emotional tour for all involved.
When the Public Relations directors at the hospitals received their press kits and my tour schedule, they all asked, "Is this girl for real, she's going to visit 22 hospitals in 15 days? This is a mission of madness!" But, after the first visit to Springfield, MA hospital, the PR directors began sharing rave reviews about my visits with their counterparts at the other hospitals. It was wonderful to walk into the next hospital on my tour schedule and be greeted by the PR director saying, "I hear your message is fabulous, the kids really enjoy your program and has everyone been so inspired by your presence. We are looking forward to your visit at our hospital!" And so the Tour went.
On Thursday, March 15, it all began. I visited the Springfield and Boston, MA hospitals. Friday morning was Erie, PA followed by a Saturday morning visit to the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital. I caught a flight to Montreal, Canada Saturday afternoon, where I was greeted by a sea of French speaking people in the airport. That was strange to me considering Montreal is not too far from the US boarder. Montreal was amazing and I was so honored to be one of the Shriners Hospitals guests in the 177th Annual St. Patrick's Day Parade in Montreal. It's the longest consecutive running parade in North America.
Then, the first full week began. Monday, March 19th I visited the Cincinnati, OH and Lexington, KY hospitals. Tuesday was Greenville, SC and Tampa, FL hospitals. I did experience some delays due to terrible weather in the southeast, but nevertheless, I made all my connections without a second to spare! Wednesday I was off to the Chicago, IL hospital and Twin Cities hospital, in Minneapolis, MN. The Minneapolis hospital was a very memorable and historic visit because first of all, this was the hospital I was treated at as a child. Second, this was visit number 11, which meant that I had successfully visited half of the 22 Shriners Hospitals and was still going strong! Thursday, I was off to the Saint Louis, MO and Shreveport, LA hospitals. Finally, Friday arrived and I was treated to wonderful weather and great visits to both the Houston and Galveston hospitals in Texas! WOW! I knew after that week I could get through anything! That evening, I caught a flight back to Iowa and was able to be at home for approx. 36 hours before I left Sunday afternoon for Mexico City.
I traveled back to Iowa because I was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Kaaba Shrine Temple's Potentate ball in Burlington, IA. I hadn't allowed myself to fully comprehend the actual impact I was making on the lives of the hundreds of children I was meeting until I addressed the banquet hall filled with Shriners, their ladies, and my parents. I about broke down in tears because I captured the essence of the impact my life and my tour was making on the children I was meeting. To top it off, I was addressing the men who make these hospitals possible. The whole experience was a little overwhelming for me. I understand the difference the Shriners made in my life, but to know that the "world's greatest philanthropy" has helped over 600,000 children since their first hospital doors opened in 1922, and to have personally met hundreds of these children, is pretty amazing. I was thrilled to have a chance to tell this group of Shriners that their work for the hospitals does not go unnoticed- that each child and each parent are so appreciative for the work the Shriners do to provide free health care for the children.
Sunday morning, March 25th, I was off again to Mexico City. Outside of the travel delay both coming and going to the city, the visit was amazing! Once I got to Mexico and visited the hospital, those airport memories vanished! I walked into the Spanish speaking hospital and was awe struck. There were at least 500 people in the waiting room, waiting just for the outpatient clinic. The PR director told me that at 7:00am, there were probably twice as many patients waiting to be seen. These numbers are daily occurrences! Truly a sight that is impossible to imagine unless you are there to witness its magnificence. To see so many children waiting to be seen by the wonderful doctors at Shriners made me realize just how important this hospital is to the children it serves in Mexico. Some children are driven to the hospital, some are flown in, but the most touching are the children that walk to the hospital with their parents. They know that when they get to the end of their long journey, they will be given excellent care. And to them, no distance is too great to travel for their children.
I often talk about the "power of the crown," and I had witnessed that at many of the previous hospitals I visited. But, in Mexico City, I was also dealing with a communication divide between myself and the children and their parents. When I saw a child's face absolutely light up because they saw the crown, and then to see that face engulfed by smiles because I placed the crown on their head, that was when I was convinced "the power of the crown" really was magical!
After Mexico City, there were a few changes to the schedule due to flight delays. However, the PR directors and the airlines were fabulous to work with and I never missed a hospital visit, or a flight (at least not entirely). Tuesday, I visited the Intermountain Hospital in Salt Lake City, UT and the Spokane, WA hospital. Wednesday, I was off to the Portland, OR and Sacramento, CA hospitals, Thursday, the Los Angeles hospital and Friday, March 30HONOLULU, Hawaii! I made it! All 22 hospitals in 15 days!
There were many special moments that occurred throughout my tour. I would have to say that at each hospital I either had one of more child hug me, kiss me on the cheek, cry or just say thank you for giving me hope and encouragement to go on and become anything I want. I also had the same emotions extended to me from parents at these hospitals. Here are just a few examples of the wonderful people I met and the memories I will cherish forever.
There was a child from Honduras at the Shreveport, LA hospital whose mother was very moved by my message. She told the interpreter that God had placed me on this earth for a purpose, and she was glad she was able to meet me. She knew that God was with me on my journey because I was making a difference in so many children's lives.
At the Cincinnati Burns Hospital, the PR director had placed a small article in the paper the day before stating that Miss Iowa would be visiting their hospitals and the community was welcome to attend her program. A mother with a four-month-old baby girl came because of this article. This young girl's name was Julia and she was born with only one hand, just like me. Her mother had never sought counseling, assistance or help for young Julia. More importantly, she had never talked to someone with Julia's disability or someone who had raised a child with only one hand. After my baton-twirling performance, Julia's mother came up to me in tears; she was absolutely bawling tears of joy! She was so thrilled to see someone like her little girl who has made a success story out of her life. Someone that Julia can look up to as a role model, and someone that she could talk to in her times of struggle raising Julia. We talked, we cried, we took pictures, we cried, and then I gave her my mother's phone number to call and talk to if she ever needed advise. You would have thought I had given her a million dollars, she was so excited to know another "mother" in her situation. I then introduced her to Stan, a local Shriner who took baby Julia in his arms and headed off to the hospital administration office to get her mother an application to sign Julia up to be treated at the orthopedic Shriners Hospital in Lexington, KY. What a joyous day!
I met a 16-year old boy at the Northern California hospital in Sacramento, CA who had a rare skin disease. His parents told me that the doctors were still unsure how to treat it because they didn't know what he had. So, they were treating him like a burn patient with skin grafting, etc. His parents had promised him that I would personally visit his room because he was unable to get out of his room for my presentation in the Central Activities Center. They had told me that he had been quite depressed and upset. However, when I walked into the room, I saw a very vibrant, happy, full of life 16-year old boy who was thrilled at the chance to meet Miss Iowa. He was very inquisitive and asked about my experiences at Shriners Hospital and how I coped with my "disability" with peers at school. We had a great conversation and he even wanted to have a picture with me AND with the crown on HIS head! Brave guy! I spoke with his parents after my visit with him and they said that his attitude had completely turned around and that I had made his day! In return, he had made mine, too!
In Mexico City, there was a young girl about 14 years old. For years, the translator told me, she had been told that she "couldn't" do something or that she "shouldn't" do something because of orthopedic problems she had with her legs. She told me that she could never be an athlete and that she loved basketball! I told her that it didn't matter what others told her she could or couldn't do, but that if she wanted to play basketball, she could and she should! She began to cry because no one had ever believed in her. No one had ever said, "You can do it!" I told her that if she had other interests that she wanted to pursue to do them as well. I told her to never let the "dis" get in the way of her "abilities!" She hugged me, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said "Gracias" with a big smile!
And finally, one of the best moments on this tour was at the Boston Burn Hospital. There was a young man, I think age 13, who had severe burns all over his body, and had just had surgery on one of his arms because it was in a cast. After my speaking program, we were waiting on a cassette player to play my music for my baton twirling performance. I asked the audience if they had any questions for me and this brave young man raised his hand and said, "Can I dance with you?" The crowd laughed and I giggled to myself as well as said, "You sure can, come on down!" I have never seen a bigger smile in my whole life. He ran down the stairs of the auditorium we were gathered in and without music, we danced the waltz. "One, two, three. One, two, three" I said to him. We had a fantastic time! When we were done with our dance, he gave me a huge hug, and surprised me with a big kiss of the cheek. The hospital photographer missed the first kiss so he asked the young man to do it again! He was so excited that he didn't hesitate a second!
There are too many experiences to capture in a single article, but they are all vibrant in my mind and I will treasure them for the rest of my life. I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to visit all 22 Shriners Hospitals in North America. This is my mission of love: to help others discover their dreams, reach their full potential, recognize their inner beauty and realize that anything is possible.
Email Miss Iowa 2000, Theresa Uchytil at Tuchytil@aol.com | |
