Cape Shriners remain involved with their youth patients

You might see a Shriner in a red fez or a clown suit at the springtime rodeo at Arena Park -- or marching in a Christmas parade. They also hold a golf tournament and a poker run -- activities that fund Shriners Hospitals -- a network of 23 hospitals across America that specialize in orthopedic problems in children, and in burn care for children.

One former Shriners hospital patient, Shane Sinn of Cape Girardeau, now in his late 20s, has become a Shriner himself -- a clown named Wheeley, to be exact. In January he will become the new Clown Club director. Still developing his character, Sinn began as a "whiteface" and then moved on to "tramp."

Sinn's personal mission is to promote Shriners because of the good work they do. Coming from a Shriner family, Sinn wears the fez his late grandfather, Elbert Masters, once wore.

The decision to become a Shriner's clown occurred when Sinn attended a Shrine Circus here at Capaha Park. "I asked the clowns about the requirements and completed them. It took less than a year," said Sinn.

As a Shriners hospital patient in the 1980s, Sinn had surgery at St. Louis Shriners Hospital which required hospitalization for a couple of weeks. "When I was there I remember they had magic shows, Bingo ... you could even attend Boy Scout meetings."

A solid bond

John Dubin, vice president of Cape Shrine Club, said, "Once a kid gets accepted into a Shriners Hospital, right up until they're 18 years old, we take care of their needs. Kids grow. If they outgrow a prosthesis or assistive device, we have our own labs that fabricate another one. We try to keep in contact with these kids. We're with them during their formative years and this makes a solid bond. We have to limit the philanthropy to the work we can do within the hospital, but I'll tell you that any Shriner would bend over backward to help a kid at any age."

The Shriners do not use Medicare or Medicaid, and they do not accept insurance for treatment. All treatment is paid for by the Shriners hospital endowments and the funds collected by the men in the red fezzes.

Ron Clark, a Shriner who's served in various executive duties over the past 15 years, said, "We do it to see the smiles on kids' faces. We want them all to feel good, be able to run, play, walk."

A lot of the public relations for the Shriners occurs through word of mouth.

"When we do paper drives [distribution of informational pamphlets about Shriners] or are out in public, our hats are the most recognized hats in the world. People tell us about a sister or a friend who was a Shriners kid. We get them back in the system if they need help or on the list to attend our party," Clark said.

A family of Shriners

Clark has a personal interest in the mission. Having spent two summers in hospitals for polio treatment when he was 4 years old, he said, "I know what it's like to be in a cold hospital environment. My mother didn't know about Shriners."

Taylor Roth of Cape Girardeau, now 4, had his first surgery at the age of 6 months to separate his fused fingers. His mother, Karen, said, "Taylor is the first in the family to be a Shriners recipient, but my dad, brother and grandpa were all Shriners."

She and her husband, Todd, explained the differences between Shriners and other hospitals. For one, the treatment is free. "While kids are there they keep them entertained by taking them on wagon rides around the ward. They have baseball players and other celebrities visiting and taking them on outings," said Karen. "They provide lodging for the families and kids in long-term care attend school," Todd added.

Amber Cook, a junior at Jackson High School, has been helped by the Shriners for 13 years. Her mother, Carol, explained that she will be a Shriner's patient until age 20 for treatment resulting from two major hip surgeries. "These were surgeries that could only be done at Shriner's. No other hospitals had the capabilities."

Party reunions

Amber has been going to the Shriners Christmas parties with her mom for over a decade.

"She has grown-up friends that have moved to Cape Girardeau that she wouldn't see ordinarily. Amber looks forward to seeing them at the Christmas parties," Carol Cook said.

The closest Shriners burn unit is in Cincinnati. "Some Shriners have their own private plane that they [use to] transport kids with burns up to Cincinnati," Clark said.

More than 250 people attended the Cape Shrine Club's annual Christmas party for Shriners patients and their families at the Drury Lodge. More than 360 children have been helped by the Shriners in the immediate area. The celebration, open to all children from the Cape Girardeau, Perry, Bollinger counties and Southern Illinois area who have been patients at the Shriners Hospitals for Children, aims to increase attendance at the annual party that includes dinner, presents and entertainment.

The party is the Shriners' way of helping keep that connection between recipients and Shriners alive. It is a celebration of lives that have been touched and improved through ongoing care at the hospitals. The Cape Shriners believe that "Once a Shriners kid, always a Shriners kid."