Wink's Children and Their Ongoing Relationship With Scottish Rite

This is Keegan Ratliff pictured with his kitty and his sister, Johnna. Keegan, diagnosed with Fibular Hemimelia, underwent his first surgery at Scottish Rite Hospital for Children at nine months. He received his first leg prosthesis on his first birthday. As Keegan grows he'll need to get a new prosthesis every nine to thirteen months. Keegan just received a new Spongebob prosthetic leg on his second birthday. Wendy, Keegan's mom, says he doesn't miss a beat, that he's into everything and doesn't know any different. Wendy also commented that when it comes time for swimming he wants to take off both legs! The entire family is very grateful for Scottish Rite Hospital and wouldn't know what they would have done without the hospital.
Kolton, another two year old of Wink, stands with a bright smile and blissfully tells me that he likes policemen, firetrucks, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh and Handy Manny. Kolton, a patient of Scottish Rite Hospital, was diagnosed at birth with Amniotic Band Syndrome, which affected his fingers and toes. He had his first surgery at four months and just recently experienced another surgery in June. He'll undergo a third surgery sometime in October or November of this year. Amanda, Kolton's mom, said that the next surgery will give Kolton the ability to grip, but that he can already throw a baseball pretty darn good!

Bree Montoya, a very shy eleven year old attending Wink Elementary, stood smiling telling us she loves Hannah Montana and is excited about meeting her fifth grade teachers. Bree developed bunions on her feet and underwent surgery prior to finding help at Scottish Rite Hospital. Misty, Bree's mom, glowingly related their experience at Scottish Rite, from the loving atmosphere to the very nice security guard, Ron. As Misty talked, she became teary eyed, I knew then that Scottish Rite meant a lot to this family. Misty said that the doctor at Scottish Rite said that Bree was a pretty little girl with old women's feet, but that was soon to be a distant memory.

Wink will be hosting the 1st Annual CO-ED Slow Pitch Softball Tournament to benefit Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. This event will take place on August 1st and 2nd. We have availability for eight more teams, so make sure you sign up! Interested teams can contact Bud Medina, local organizer, 432-527-3468. If you'd like to make a charitable donation you can mail that to: Scottish Rite Fund, P O BOX 733, Wink, TX, 79789.
You can also make donations to Scottish Rite online via their website.