Strong legs run so that weak legs may walk

Help Shriners Kids Defy the Odds Attend the Shrine Bowl this year!

MONTREAL, Oct. 3, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Today, Concordia University Stingers, Sherbrooke University's Vert et Or  and Karnak Shriners announced that the 26^th annual Montreal Shrine Bowl will be held at Concordia Stadium, 7200, Sherbrooke West, on Saturday, October 6^th at 1:00 p.m.  The previous 25 Montreal Shrine Bowl games have generated $805,000 in donations to Shriners Hospitals for Children- Canada in Montreal. The public is invited to attend this family event to benefit the hospital. Tickets are $10 and are available at www.montrealshrinebowl.com and also at the door on Saturday.

This year's event King and Queen, Shriners patients Jérémy Gabriel (15 years old) and Sydney Choules (11 years old) are excited to represent the Hospital at event and to watch the players in action.

15 year-old Jérémy Gabriel was diagnosed as baby with Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. In addition to head, skull and facial deformities, children with this condition generally have absent or malformed ears. At the age of 6, he was implanted with a BAHA (Bone Anchored Hearing Aid) which allowed him to hear. Since, he has sung for both Céline Dion and the Pope, recorded two albums and co-authored a book. This past summer, Jérémy was chosen as the 2012-2013 patient ambassador for the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children system.

11 year-old Sydney is a self-proclaimed sports fanatic, she is an avid swimmer, soccer and hockey player. In 2011, she began feeling ill and feverish and her parents brought her to The Montreal Children's Hospital. The doctors diagnosed Sydney with osteomyelitis, an acute bone infection. Sydney endured 7 surgeries at the Children's Hospital to control the infection before she was transferred to Shriners Hospitals for Children^®-Canada in 2012 for specialized orthopaedic care and bone reconstruction. She underwent multiple surgeries in order to repair the bone damage created by the bacteria.  After her 10^th surgery, she was fitted with a specialized external fixator called a Taylor frame. Although she missed her grade 5 year, she started grade 6 this fall, joining her peers at school.

Shriners Hospitals for Children^®- Canada has delivered pioneering, patient centered, compassionate care to patients and their families from Canada, the United States and beyond in a healing environment since 1925. Based in Montreal, it is a bilingual institution providing pediatric orthopaedic treatment for patients with highly complex conditions, including scoliosis, spina bifida and other spinal malformations, osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), metabolic bone disease, skeletal growth abnormalities and congenital anomalies of the musculoskeletal system. Every member of our staff, from surgeons to therapists, nurses to educators, is committed to helping children reach their full potential. Children from across Canada, the U.S. and around the world have benefited from the hospital's ground-breaking research and innovative treatments, both in Montreal and in their own communities.

Image with caption: "The Sherbrooke Vert & Or and the Concordia Stingers with the Queen of the Shrine Bowl Sydney Choules (11 years-old) (CNW Group/SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (CANADA))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121003_C3779_PHOTO_EN_18857.jpg

Image with caption: "Félix (6 years-old) throws a football at Vert & Or players (CNW Group/SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (CANADA))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121003_C3779_PHOTO_EN_18858.jpg

Image with caption: "Dave (15 years-old) gets his cast signed by the football players (CNW Group/SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (CANADA))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121003_C3779_PHOTO_EN_18859.jpg

Image with caption: "Queen of the Shrine Bowl, Sydney Choules (11 years-old), visits Hector (18 years-old ) with players of the Vert & Or and Stingers (CNW Group/SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (CANADA))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20121003_C3779_PHOTO_EN_18860.jpg

SOURCE: SHRINERS HOSPITAL FOR CHILDREN (CANADA)

NOTE: Media is invited to the football game. For additional information or the complete bios of the children, visit montrealshrinebowl.com

Source:
Shriners Hospitals for Children- Canada 
Gemma Bélanger, Public Relations
[email protected], [phone], C: 514-207-2267

Concordia University
Catherine Grace, Sports Information Coordinator 
[email protected]  514.848.2424 ext. 3862

Sherbrooke University
Pascal Morin, Communications agent
[email protected], [phone] ext. 62599