HOUSTON, TX – 17-year-old Alan Sanchez has won his share of track meet medals, but he is not your usual track star. The teen, an above-the-knee amputee, has been borrowing his coach’s artificial leg to run high school races in his hometown!
This Shriners Hospitals for
Children-Houston patient will be receiving his very own running
prosthesis this Friday, thanks to a generous donation from Dynamic
Orthotics and Prosthetics, a Hanger Prosthetics and Orthotics company.
Hanger prosthetist Jason Jennings, CPO, will fit Alan with his new custom-designed prosthesis made specifically for running. Jason said, “When I heard his story about winning races with his coach’s prosthetic leg and saw some video on his father’s phone of him running, it was very inspirational to me. I wanted to make sure this young man had the tools he needed to excel in the sport he loves.”
After receiving his new running leg, Alan and a fellow group of amputee patients will go to the Rice University outdoor track on Main Street and University to participate in a running clinic from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. The clinic will be hosted by Paralympic athlete and fellow Hanger patient John Siciliano, who broke a national record for the 200-meter race at the 1996 Paralympic trials in Atlanta.
Alan, who lost his left leg as a toddler when it was crushed by a stack of falling bricks, and his father, Francisco Sanchez, originally from Monterrey, Mexico, are excited. “This is our dream. I would like to see him compete in the Paralympics,” Sanchez said of his son.
Alan runs track for his high school team called “Los Tigres” (The Tigers) and said, “My teammates give me great support. And I owe a lot to my coach (Jorge Gonzalez).”
Shriners Hospitals for Children® is a health care system of 22 hospitals dedicated to improving the lives of children by providing pediatric specialty care, innovative research, and outstanding teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care and receive all services in a family-centered environment, regardless of the patients’ ability to pay.
If you know a child the Shriners might be able to help, call 1-800-853-1240. If you’d like to be part of this amazing mission, call 1-800-241-GIFT. Visit www.shrinershospitals.org for more information.
About Dynamic / Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics – Dynamic Orthotics and Prosthetics is a Hanger company. With 39 patient care centers in Texas and 670+ nationwide, the certified clinicians of Hanger Prosthetics & Orthotics provide patients with the latest in orthotic and prosthetic solutions, including microprocessor devices for those with limb loss and neuromuscular technologies for those with paralysis due to stroke, MS and other debilitating conditions. For more information, visit www.hanger.com.
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