April 24, 1999
Shriners seeking to help as many children as possible
By Carol Bogart
Staff Writer
Choking. Ashley Berry's new baby seemed to do a lot of choking. Berry took Donovan to the doctor. It turned out he had cleft palate at the back of his mouth.
Berry had no insurance. She was told surgery could wait.
"They just kinda waited and waited," Berry says. "They said they weren't going to do surgery for him until he was, it was like 2 or 3 years."
Enter the Shriners. Jeff Kuhn (J & J Builders, Tiffin) says, "I said to Ashley, 'We'll be glad (to help him). Right away.' Because he was choking to death. Several times he almost died."
Kuhn, a Mason involved with the Shriners for the past 12 years, says the Tiffin chapter got right on it and transported Berry and Donovan to the Shriners' hospital in Chicago. So far Donovan, now two, has had two operations and needs one more.
Donovan's medical care, had Berry paid for it herself, might easily have topped $25,000, Kuhn says. The Shriners are covering all of Donovan's expenses as they have for as many as 100 Tiffin-area children in the past decade or so.
Nationally, the Shriners spend $1.342 million a day tending the medical needs of children. The Shriner hospital in Cincinnati specializes in burns. Hospitals in Erie, Pennsylvania and Chicago focus on orthopedic problems. Conditions addressed by the Shriners include:
- scoliosis
- spina bifida
- spinal cord injuries
- cerebral palsy
- neuromuscular disorders
- dislocated hips
- Legg Perthes disease
- Bowed legs
- club feet
- dwarfism or limb discrepancy
- rickets
- missing limbs
- rib case (caved in)
- brittle bone disease
- rheumatoid arthritis
- cleft palate and lip
Shriner Jerry Wheatley is one of several drivers who often leave Tiffin
at 4 a.m. to take kids to Chicago or the Shriners hospital in Erie, Pa. Wheatley says, "We take them to the hospital and we wait. When they're finished, we bring them back. Whatever length of time that might be. Sometimes it's a long day."
Kuhn says only about five of the children helped by Tiffin-area Shriners had burn-related problems. Some had injuries from doing things like trying to jump on trains. Most, though, Wheatley says, are bone-related birth defects.
Kuhn says some children are even missing limbs. "We don't have as many burn patients as we do orthopedic," Wheatley says. "We see children with stubs for arms. Stubs for legs. By and large the children we transport, the lack of limbs are birth defects."
Wheatley says the Shriners would help every child in need worldwide if they could. Kuhn says, "It's really rewarding. Your heart just gets really warm."
Berry, smiling fondly at her active toddler says, "They're wonderful people. They're there to help you with everything." She believes Donovan is alive today thanks to the help she got from the Shriners.
All day Tuesday, the Shriners will display their new trailer at the Tiffin Mall. On May 28, the Zenobian Temple in Toledo will offer free screenings for children who might need treatment. Parents who want to go but need a ride can call Jerry Wheatley at 447-9628, or Jeff Kuhn at 447-9005.