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Sudbury twins helped by local Shiners

BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN [email protected] When you look at the upright posture of 16-year-old identical twins Daniel and David Phillips, you?d never guess that a few years ago their spines were so curved that they looked like horseshoes.
BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN

When you look at the upright posture of 16-year-old identical twins Daniel and David Phillips, you?d never guess that a few years ago their spines were so curved that they looked like horseshoes.

Identical twins Daniel and David Phillips, 16, show off the scoliosis brace the Shiners provided for David.
Their x-ray technologist mother, Helene Phillips, realized David had severe scoliosis in 2002 after looking at an X-ray of his chest.

When Daniel went in for the same test, doctors said he had an even worse form of the condition.

That?s when the Sudbury Shrine Club got involved. They operate an outreach clinic in the city for children with orthopedic and motor difficulties.

The orthopedic surgeon who runs the Sudbury clinic, Dr. Reg Hamdy, referred the family to the Shriners Hospital in Montreal.

Daniel was scheduled for surgery to straighten his spine immediately, and David was fitted with a corrective back brace. Eventually, David had the same surgery as his brother.

The family spoke about their experiences at an information session about Shriners hospitals at the Sudbury Shrine Centre last week.

?I didn?t have to pay for my brace, because the Shriners pay for everything,? said David.

?When we went to Montreal to get the brace, it took about four hours to get it fitted, because they have padding inside. They have to make it fit perfectly so that you can actually stand to wear it.?

Helene says she can?t thank the Shriners enough for helping her boys.

?It was a very emotional time. We really appreciate the help we received from the dedicated, skilled and professional staff at the Montreal Shriners Hospital,? she says.

Shriners raise around $625 million every year by selling Christmas cakes, collecting cans and putting on circuses. The money is used to support 22 hospitals across North America.

The hospitals treat children under the age of 18 with orthopedic problems, severe burns and spinal cord injuries. The funds are also used for research to find new ways to treat these conditions.

The first Shriners hospital opened in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1922, and the Montreal hospital opened in 1925.

Through its research activities, Shriners hospitals have made huge advances in treatment, says Fred Clark, the incoming president for the overall Shriners body in Ontario, called the Rameses Temple.

?We?re in the burns business. Back quite a few years ago, if a child had 54 percent burns throughout their body, that was considered very difficult to treat,? he says.

?Today, it ranges up in the low 90s. That?s how technology and research, which our hospitals are so well known for, help people.?

It?s not practical to send children to Montreal every time they need a checkup, says Clark. That?s why an outreach clinic was set up at the Children?s Treatment Centre in Sudbury about 10 years ago.

The clinic is especially well known for treating children with cerebral palsy by injecting their limbs with botox, which decreases muscle spasms.

?The Shriners? commitment to children is evident every day that their club members man our hallways at the Children?s Treatment Centre during the
clinics,? says Sally Spence, clinical director of the Children?s Treatment Centre.


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