Shriners Children's Spokane Paralympians

Three Patients Shine at the Paralympics

SPOKANE, Wash. – Staff at Shriners Children's Spokane were thrilled to watch three current and former patients compete on the international stage at the 2020 Paralympic Games!

Former patient Susannah Scaroni took home a gold medal in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 10:52.57, a new Paralympic record. It is Scaroni’s first gold medal and third Paralympic games.

Scaroni was paralyzed at age 5 following a car accident. In the years that followed, Shriners Children's Spokane specialists introduced her to adaptive sports through its No Limits Adaptive Sports Clinic. It was a day planned, organized and facilitated by the recreation therapy department designed to motivate patients with mobility issues to participate in adaptive sports. The program was in place through 2007.

Three Patients Shine at the Paralympics

SPOKANE, Wash. – Staff at Shriners Children's Spokane were thrilled to watch three current and former patients compete on the international stage at the 2020 Paralympic Games!

Former patient Susannah Scaroni took home a gold medal in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 10:52.57, a new Paralympic record. It is Scaroni’s first gold medal and third Paralympic games.

Scaroni was paralyzed at age 5 following a car accident. In the years that followed, Shriners Children's Spokane specialists introduced her to adaptive sports through its No Limits Adaptive Sports Clinic. It was a day planned, organized and facilitated by the recreation therapy department designed to motivate patients with mobility issues to participate in adaptive sports. The program was in place through 2007.

Other racers Hannah Dederick and Isaiah Rigo also made strong showings at the 2020 Paralympic Games. Both also finding their start in adaptive sports and wheelchair racing through Shriners Children's Spokane.

Dederick placed 4th in the 100-meter T54 race in her first Paralympic Games! She missed bronze by just 0.03 seconds. However, she did score a personal best during her first heat. At just 18, she was the youngest wheelchair racing athlete on Team USA.

“I remember when Hannah started. She was shy and reticent, but she always would make videos of her experiences and share them. As her confidence grew through sports, she came out of her shell and ended up being the life of the party,” said Recreational Therapist Carol Kaczka.

Former patient Rigo became a patient at Shriners Children's Spokane during infancy. He underwent surgery and years of therapy which fueled his strength in wheelchair racing. He started pushing at age 6 with the help of the hospital specialists. At 14, Rigo was selected as the youngest member of Team USA for the IPC World Championships. In the 2020 Paralympic Games, he competed in the 100-meter and 1,500-meter races and was a finalist in the 400-meter race!

Dederick and Rigo are now following in the footsteps of Scaroni. They are currently teammates on the University of Urbana-Champaign wheelchair track team, both with full-ride college scholarships.

Shriners Children's Spokane is proud to embolden its patients and help navigate their journey into adaptive sports. We are continuously inspired by our patients’ hard work proving dreams can become realities. We know we have not seen the last of these athletes on the world stage and look forward to watching them succeed!

Families curious or with questions about adaptive sports are encouraged to reach out to Shriners Children's Spokane at 509-455-7844.