GREAT FALLS — In October, some of the best professional golfers in the world will tee off at the PGA Tour Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
Great Falls CMR sophomore Grant Brumwell will be right alongside them.
Grant is one of 21 patient ambassadors chosen from across the country to represent the pediatric care network at the tournament. He will serve as a standard-bearer on the weekend, carrying the scores of a group of professional golfers as they compete in the final days of the tournament. It is a rare “inside the ropes” opportunity at a PGA Tour event.
“Just to represent Shriners Children's Hospital in Spokane from Great Falls at a level like that, it's pretty awesome," Brumwell said. "I mean, for me to be chosen out of all the kids that go to Shriners, children in Spokane, you know, there's not words to describe the feeling. It’s going to be a neat experience.”
The course at TPC Summerlin is over 7,000 yards. That’s a lot of walking.
“I think they told me its at least five miles per day,” Brumwell said.
But Grant, age 15, will be able to do it without issue. That’s only possible due to the free care he received at the Shiners Children’s Hospital in Spokane.
“Without Shriners I wouldn't be really doing a lot of activities that other kids are doing at my age,” he said. “And I'm just very grateful to the Shriners for helping me out with with all my leg needs.”
Grant was born with bi-lateral clubfeet. He has been a Shriners Children’s Spokane patient since he was a 1-year-old. Grant has been through a lot in his journey with Shriners Children’s, having had surgery first to lengthen his heel cords, then two surgeries to rotate his tibias, the last one just over a year ago. He has received physical therapy and too many casts and braces to count.
And in December, Grant will undergo his final surgery to remove elements inside his leg. After that, the journey he’s been on for 15 years will come full circle.
“It won’t feel real,” Brumwell said, "that after 15 years of living with this, it’s going to be pretty much fixed.”
You can help give Grant the experience of a lifetime at the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open by clicking here.
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