Tampa
Pediatric Specialty Care
Orthopaedics
Pediatric Specialty Care
Orthopaedics
 |
Tampa Bay Girl Selected as Patient Ambassador of All-Star Football Game
October 20, 2009
Nine-year-old Leigh Dittman of Lutz, Fla., will represent Shriners Hospitals for Children as a patient ambassador for the 85th East-West Shrine Game, which will be held Jan. 23 in Orlando, Fla.The East-West Shrine Game is the longest-running college all-star football game in the country and features some of the finest NCAA athletes. While the teams are divided by East and West, the players come together for the beneficiary of the event, Shriners Hospitals for Children. This international pediatric specialty health care system provides all care without financial obligation to patients or their families.
Dittman has been a patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children — Tampa since shortly after her birth. She was diagnosed with osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as brittle bone disease, which causes her bones to break easily. Dittman was the youngest patient admitted into a Shriners Hospitals for Children research study using a medication called Pamidronate. The care and treatment she receives has helped decrease the number of fractures she has had, lessened her pain and increased her mobility.
As a patient ambassador for the 85th East-West Shrine Game, Dittman will represent the more than 120,000 children currently receiving care at the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children throughout North America. She will attend official East-West Shrine Game events and take center-field on game-day for the coin toss.
“I was really excited [to be selected as an ambassador],” Dittman said. “I think it’s great because I’ll get to talk to the guys and see them play. And, I get to go to Orlando for four days, so I hope I’ll get to do some fun things, like go to Disney.”
Full of enthusiasm and compassion, Dittman and her generous spirit have touched the lives of many people. When she was 3, she expressed to her family that she wanted to help other kids, because Shriners Hospitals for Children was helping her. Instead of receiving toys for her birthday, she requested donations to benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children. This act of generosity has become an annual fundraiser, with more than 700 people attending the event in September. Dittman and her family have raised more than $250,000 dollars for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
A fourth grader at Lutz Elementary School, Dittman is in the gifted program and belongs to the Odyssey of the Mind Club. She is a huge fan of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers football team and the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.
For more information about the East-West Shrine Game, visit www.shrinegame.com. For information about Shriners Hospitals for Children, visit www.shrinershospitals.org.
Photo: Leigh Dittman with her father David Dittman, who is a member of Egypt Shriners in Tampa.
2900 Rocky Point Dr. Tampa, FL 33607
813.281.0300
In the US: 800.237.5055
In Canada: 800.361.7256
Emergency burn referrals:
Boston: 800.255.1916
Cincinnati: 866.947.7840
Sacramento: 866.714.7123
Shriners International Official Web site | PRIVACY