Story Summary He now plays wheelchair sports, appears on television and attends college. He embodies the hope and confidence families and children find at Shriners Hospitals for Children.

Shriners Children's three-part mission has one goal: to change and improve lives. We do this by caring for our patients, conducting research to gain knowledge and develop new treatments, and providing educational opportunities for physicians and other healthcare professionals.

Osteogenesis Imperfecta Osteogenesis Imperfecta or Brittle Bone Disease.

Alec, a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children - Chicago, has become a popular television star, been interviewed on numerous national news and talk shows, and has captured the hearts of many with his adorable smile and charming personality. Alec lives in the suburbs of Chicago, and is quite the active teenager.

Alec, a patient of Shriners Hospitals for Children - Chicago, has become a popular television star and has captured the hearts of many with his adorable smile and charming personality. The Filipino American lives in the suburbs of Chicago, and is quite the active teenager.

Shriners have stepped forward in recent years to complain about improprieties at some of the 191 local temples affiliated with the Shrine, including the commingling of charitable and noncharitable assets and the disappearance of money raised for the hospitals.

The history of Shriners International is the story of individuals who came together in the spirit of fun and fellowship, who would lay the foundation for a worldwide fraternity and establish a globally recognized pediatric specialty health care system.

The Shrine is best known for its colorful parades, its distinctive red fez, and its official philanthropy, Shriners Hospitals for Children, which is often called “the heart and soul of the Shrine”.

"It'll be with me for my life. I'll live with it until I die." That's what brought Cabacungan to Shriners in the first place – a rare genetic disorder called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, better known as brittle bone disease. His parents, Alma and Gill, got the news before he was born.

Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Schreiner .

Founded in 1872, the organization now known as Shriners International was established as a Masonic fraternity that showcased fun and fellowship for its members.

Despite its Arabic theme, the Shrine is in no way connected to Islam. It is a men's fraternity rather than a religion or religious group. Its only religious requirement is indirect: all Shriners must be Masons, and petitioners to Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being.