Impact Report 2024

CREATING A LEGACY OF CARE You are building brighter futures for generations.

For over 80 years, one family has trusted Shriners Children’s Spokane, where exceptional care and innovative treatments have transformed lives across four generations. Their journey with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI), or brittle bone disease, was more than a medical diagnosis but a daily reality that impacted their quality of life. However, thanks to donors’ generosity in supporting groundbreaking research in treatments, each generation received hope for a better future. It began with June, the family matriarch, born in 1924, who was among the first OI patients at Shriners Children’s Spokane. Her family sought treatment after she started fracturing bones when she was about 10, leading to a diagnosis and care in her teenage years. The trust built from June’s experience carried forward to her daughter, Wanda, who underwent multiple surgeries at the hospital. Despite spending much of her childhood in treatment, Wanda always felt surrounded by compassion and support. That legacy continued with Wanda’s daughter, Chandra. As a child, she endured over 200 fractures and years of treatment, only beginning to walk on her own at 22. Through it all, she trusted and valued her outstanding care team. Perhaps the most remarkable chapter in this family’s story is Alex, Chandra’s son and the fourth generation to receive care at Shriners Children’s Spokane. Thanks to groundbreaking treatments, including those influenced by research from his mother’s bone marrow donation, Alex walks and runs. Now a thriving teenager with dreams of college and a career in sports broadcasting, Alex’s future is bright because of the donors who make Shriners Children’s care possible. This is more than a story of resilience — it’s a testament to the power of the care made possible through donor generosity. Because of you, families like this one don’t just survive; they thrive. •

Everyone at Shriners Children’s is friendly and caring, and they want what’s best for your kiddo. We love our Shriners family.” WANDA

ALEX, AGE 16

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