Robyn Stawski is a 21-year-old former patient who works in the CHOICES
department, (Children’s Healthcare Options Improved Through Collaborative Efforts an
Services) providing information to Shriners Hospital patients about valuable community
resources.
Robyn has cerebral palsy and was sponsored by Shriners from Bahia Temple. Six years
later, after surgery, rehabilitation and braces, Robyn reached her goal of independence.
She lives independently in an apartment and attends Hillsborough Community College where
she was recently recognized by the college as the second most influential student in the
entire school, and was featured in their student publication.
Robyn also pursues her love of sports with determination. She plays wheelchair
basketball for the Tampa Terrors, a junior team in Tampa and competed at the National and
World Championships in track and field and swimming. In fact, Robyn currently holds
national records in the 200m run, discus, shot put and club throw for the 16-18 year-old
junior division.
She also holds the world record for the 400m freestyle swim and has traveled throughout
the United States and other countries including Malta, Italy and India as part of a
national organization called Student Venture. Robyn spoke to children about life in the
United States and the many challenges she has overcome.
In June she won 10 gold medals as a participant in the United Cerebral Palsy games.
Five medals were for swimming events and five were for track and field events.The long and
winding road she has traveled to independence has provided her with the expertise she
needs to help others in similar situations.
"My time of transition with such things as transportation, education, employment
and independent living opened a whole new arena of challenges," she says. "I was
excited and fearful at the same time, but I was able to overcome the hurdles and found the
resources to continue running the race."
It is this determination and dedication that make Robyn such a valuable asset to
patients and staff at Shriners Hospital in Tampa. She began volunteering in the Orthotics
and Prosthetics department after moving to Tampa a year ago and was very excited when she
was offered a part-time position with CHOICES.
She says her position offers her new challenges to help others find the resources they
need to reach their own goal of independence. Her many responsibilities include organizing
a sports resource guide, exploring the Internet to find resources for patients and
communicating with agencies and other people with disabilities via e-mail. Shriners
Hospital has an e-mail address for teens who want to obtain additional information: teentalk@gate.net.
She looks forward to coming to work every day and says the challenges she overcame
helped her understand that success only comes after sacrifice. One important message that
she wants to convey to children with physical disabilities is that they can achieve goals
through persistence and perseverance. Robyn explains, "Having disability doesn't mean
you have an inability to succeed."
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The Florida section of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) plans to host a tennis clinic at Shriners Hospital on Wednesday, August 18 at 1 p.m. in the patient activity area. This event will be open to Shriners Hospitals patients and other children in wheelchairs
