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From Spinal Cord Injury to WCMX Champion: Alyssa's Journey at Shriners Hospitals for Children

From Spinal Cord Injury to WCMX Champion: Alyssa's Journey at Shriners Hospitals for Children

(Spanish Subtitles) Alyssa’s talent at the skate park isn’t the only thing setting her apart from other skateboarders her age. She’s different in one very specific way. She rides a wheelchair. Over the years, Alyssa has been cared for by a multidisciplinary team of Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California medical staff members including orthopaedists, orthopaedic spine surgeons, physical therapists, urologists and bowel management specialists. She has been fitted for various assistive mobility devices as she has grown. “Shriners [Hospitals] has been there for us through the years in every possible way, whether it’s help getting a new wheelchair faster or help talking to our insurances company about Alyssa’s needs, or even just getting a doctor’s note for school,” said her mother Anna. “Shriners is always there.”
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Alyssa:

Hi my name is Alyssa i am 15 years old i am from Redlands California and I have been a patient at Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California for a little over 10 years now i have a spinal cord injury i got it when i was really young and so now i'm in a wheelchair and this is actually a skate chair what makes it like special to be a skate chair is the wheels it grips to the wall the doctors at shriners hospital they taught me to believe in myself and everything that i do it gives me like such confidence to know that like hey these these people believe in me so if they can believe in me i know i can do it i love the fact that shriners is always looking for the next step in my life they're never just looking for a spot to stop they're always looking for how they can improve my life to something better than what it already is they're just like coming along with me on like that journey they're like following me with that journey and helping me out it's great