The competition was fierce on the field at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. Players in the East-West Shrine Bowl drilled alongside patients from Shriners Children's in games like "duck duck goose" and wheelchair races.
"That was tough," BYU player Ryan Rico said after a wheelchair race. "She's been giving me lessons, but I'm still not as good as the professor."
"The players are trying to reach their ultimate goal, which is the NFL," Shriners Children's Chief Marketing Officer Mel Bower said. "Every day our patients are trying to reach their ultimate goal, which is to lead their very best life."
Some patients have prosthetic legs, others are in wheelchairs. Gabby Trujillo, a Shriners Children's patient from Fort Worth, was born without wrist bones.
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"I like being special...I feel lucky to have arms and legs so I can run, I can hold my lunch for school," Trujillo said. She added that she loved the event because she got to meet new people. "And meeting other people that are kinda like me, but they have different conditions, and I'm ok with that."
"This is what is special and different about it," Bowers said. "You've got all these perspective NFL players who are looking forward to the draft, but today what's happening is they're meeting patients from our system who've overcome health challenges each and every day."
"It's really fun," Shriners Children's patient from Eagle Pass said as she threw the football with some of the players.
"Just the love for the game, I think you see, so pure from them," Rico said. "It's an honor to be out here sharing the field with them."
The East-West Shrine Bowl kicks off Thursday at 7:07 p.m.