Pelzer resident to represent Greenville Shriners Hospital for Children at PGA Tour event in Las Vegas

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Sixteen year old Megan Wetherald of Pelzer will have the experience of a lifetime when she represents the Shriners Hospitals for Children in Greenville at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, an official PGA TOUR event in Las Vegas this November.
Megan was chosen as one of 22 patient ambassadors throughout the country to represent the hospital network at the tournament, where she will serve as a standard bearer throughout the weekend, carrying the scores of professional golfers as they compete in the tournament.
It is a rare “inside the ropes” opportunity at a PGA TOUR event, as well as the chance to share how Shriners Hospitals have helped transform her life.
Megan is a junior at Brashier Middle College High School, a public funded charter school on West Georgia Road in Simpsonville.
She is a pianist, of ten years, on the dance team at her high school and a basketball coach for Upward Sports through her church.
She is a role model to her younger siblings, a nursing home volunteer, and a babysitter.
From reading all these things you wouldn’t automatically guess that Megan is also a limb deficiency patient at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Greenville.
Born with only two full fingers on her left hand, Megan became a patient at Greenville Shriners Hospital when she was an infant.
It was at the hospital that she received genetic testing and was diagnosed with a birth defect that caused only a couple of her fingers to fully develop. It was also at the hospital that she and her family received expert advice and care.
“My parents were told when I was an infant that one of the best things they could do for me was let me reach out with my left hand to grab things and to never let it be a crutch or a handicap to me,” explains Megan.
This advice is something that she has carried with her throughout her entire life, never letting her differences keep her from reaching her goals.
“If you are a determined and driven person you can do anything you put your mind to,” says Megan.
Her determination has taken her front and center at her high school, where she dances for games at halftime and the pep rallies, to the basketball court, where she coaches the sixth to eighth-grade boy’s basketball team and the stage at church, where she sings and plays piano in the girl’s ensemble.
She wrote a story about bullying for Shriners Hospital and it was chosen and published and now being sold in the gift shop at the Greenville Shriners Hospital and Amazon.
With the help of regular evaluations at Greenville Shriners Hospital, Megan is thriving and continues to make future goals that she will surely reach.
At this present time, Megan has all but two of her credits that is needed to graduate high school. Her junior and senior year she will be taking college classes to get a head start on college where she sees herself becoming a Physician’s Assistant or Pharmacist with the hopes of potentially being able to work with children that have “special differences” just like herself.
“Greenville Shriners Hospital is the most amazing hospital and I am so blessed to become a patient 16 years ago,” says Megan. “I look forward to the day when I will be able to give back to patients at Shriners Hospital.”
DONATE TODAY to help us give Megan the experience of a lifetime at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open this November in Las Vegas, Nevada!
Shriners Hospitals for Children has a mission to provide the highest quality care to children with neuromusculoskeletal conditions, burn injuries and other special healthcare needs within a compassionate, family-centered and collaborative care environment. Help us “Fundraise FORE Love” and show support for the children and families who need Shriners Hospitals for Children.
As part of her participation in the tournament, Megan’s story and photo will appear in the tournament program, and her information will be shared with the Golf Channel, which will televise the tournament nationally, to be used during the broadcast. The broadcast reaches over 700 million homes across 240 countries worldwide.
Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day through innovative pediatric specialty care, world-class research, and outstanding medical education.
Their 22 locations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico provide advanced care for children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate regardless of the families’ ability to pay.
Megan’s goal is to raise $5,000 toward her trip to represent the region and the hospital. Journal readers can help by visiting this website:
https://donate.lovetotherescue.org/fundraiser/1514873
Learn more about how Shriners Hospitals for Children is changing lives every day by visiting their website at www.shrinershospitalsforchildren.org/greenville