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.

You should expect us to do great things, too,” says 19-year-old TV spokesperson and budding sports broadcaster Alec Cabacungan.

ALEC'S STORY He now plays wheelchair sports, appears on television and is a tremendous voice for Shriners Children's everywhere he goes. With support from Shriners Children's, Alec is an active teenager pursuing his goal to become a sports anchor and broadcaster.

On National Superhero Day 2023, the Baskin-Robbins Joy in Childhood Foundation surprised and celebrated Sebastian, a patient and local superhero at Shriners Children's Southern California, as its newest Pint-Sized Hero! Sebastian is a 14-year-old who was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta when he was an infant.

He began receiving care at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Chicago in 2002 and has made amazing progress through advanced treatments. 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.

"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.

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 International is a fraternity based on fun, fellowship and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief and truth. With nearly 200 local chapters and thousands of clubs on six continents, Shriners are known for their fellowship, brotherhood, compassion and generosity.

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.

Shriners are distinguished by an enjoyment of life in the interest of philanthropy. The approximately 525,000 member organization has a buoyant philosophy which has been expressed as "Pleasure without intemperance, hospitality without rudeness and jollity without coarseness." Shriners are men who enjoy life.

Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Schreiner .

He was born with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease, a genetic bone disorder characterized by fragile bones that can frequently and easily break. He began receiving care at Shriners Hospitals for Children® - Chicago in 2002 and has made amazing progress through advanced treatments.