Hitting it Out of the Park: Astin's Story

Astin is a 16-year-old patient from Bensalem, Pennsylvania, who has been receiving care at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia for sports-related injuries since late 2024. He also attends physical therapy for rehabilitation of his leg.

Astin first came to Shriners Children’s Philadelphia when he was experiencing frequent elbow dislocations, a product of playing baseball. He was referred to Scott Kozin, M.D., who prescribed occupational therapy sessions. His occupational therapist, Justine LaPierre, MS, OTR/L, worked with him as an outpatient to practice exercises to strengthen his joints and ligaments in his affected elbow. Astin said, “Shoutout to Justine for helping me strengthen my ligaments and for getting me to where I am today!”

But that was not the end of Astin’s medical journey at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia. As an athlete, he unfortunately sustained an additional sports injury. Playing baseball, he tore his medial patellofemoral ligament in his knee, which required surgery to repair. Sean Waldron, M.D., pediatric sports medicine surgeon, performed this surgery and it was successful.

Dr. Waldron said, “I first started seeing Astin in May 2025. At that time, he was swinging a baseball bat and injured his right knee. I reviewed his MRI and recommended surgery for his right patellar instability. He underwent a right knee arthroscopy, medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, as well as a tibial tubercle osteotomy in September 2025. He recovered very well from the surgery and worked hard with physical therapy. He is such a great patient and has such a positive attitude.”

Astin also sees Sara Kaskowitz, D.O., sports medicine physician at our hospital. She said, “As part of our growing sports medicine program, I've had the opportunity to care for Astin through both post-surgical recovery and a subsequent stress injury. His dedication to rehabilitation, positive attitude and perseverance have made him a great example of the resilience we see in young athletes.”

Now, Astin attends frequent physical therapy rehabilitation to strengthen his knee so he can return to playing the sport he loves. He rotates between multiple physical therapists and said all of them have provided great care and have been catalysts to his recovery. Astin said, “Overall, my care at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia has been amazing from the front desk, to the therapists, to the doctors, everyone at Shriners Children’s Philadelphia. Thank you all!”

Astin is a standout Patient Ambassador who participated in the filming for our 100th Anniversary video and Shriners Children’s commercial. He also reached out to be a guest star on our popular social media series, Shriners Philly Carpool Karaoke Remixed, where he discussed his care and shared his story. He is consistently engaged in supporting our mission and contributing to the awareness of his sports injury care in the surrounding communities. We look forward to seeing him back playing on the field, returning to the sport he loves due to the care received at our hospital.