Mustafa
Greg Oden Holiday Party
VA Hospital Visit
Mustafa
In an effort to make it better this season Coach McMillan and the Trail Blazers hosted Mustafa Ahmed Abed at the practice facility, and got a lesson in soccer in return. Mustafa is a six year old boy from Fallujah, Iraq, who lost his left leg when he was two. He was in town to be fitted for a prosthetic at local Shriners Hospital.
Ned Rosch, a volunteer with No More Victims, a group that is hosting Mustafa and his father said, “He had some major, extensive surgery done at Dorenbecher. He had a stone removed from his bladder that was the size of an egg. At Shriners he received a wheelchair and a walker. And then to everybody’s surprise, even though initially doctors said it couldn’t be done, Shriners found a way to build him a prosthetic leg, so he’s now learning to walk with an artificial leg."
After touring the practice facility and meeting members from the Trail Blazers, Mustafa who loves soccer and racing, got out of his wheelchair to demonstrate his extraordinary kicking ability - lining kick after kick past anyone who tried to defend him.
Rosch is very found of Mustafa. “He is exuberant, he’s courageous, and he’s a fighter. He survived a surgery after the attack where the doctors gave him a one percent chance of surviving. He survived with pain for four years until he came to Portland. He received phenomenal treatment at Doernbecher and Shriners. He’s pain-free and he’s just an exuberant kid.”
No More Victims is an organization dedicated to obtaining medical sponsorships for war-injured Iraqi children and to forge ties between children, their families, and communities in the United States.
No More Victims heard about Mustafa on a television show from an organization that brought young children that were injured in the Iraq war to the U.S.,” said Rosch. “So we organized a group of people in Portland to do that. He arrived on September 9th and it has been an incredible journey of getting him healthy and all of us falling in love with this sweet little boy.”
Check out the video of Mustafa at the practice facility.
Greg Oden Holiday Party
Greg Oden, broadcaster Antonio Harvey and Oregon Mentors hosted a holiday party and movie screening of Home Alone 2 for youth and their mentors at the Bagdad Theater in Southeast Portland.
Greg spent a lot of time with the children, patiently signing autographs and spending a few minutes in conversation with everyone. The event helped make it better for kids and adults across Oregon.
VA Hospital Visit
Joel Pryzbilla, Ike Diogu, Jerryd Bayless, Blazer Dancers, and Trail Blazer alumni spent an afternoon spreading holiday cheer at the VA Hospital in Portland.
The visited with the service men and women to help spread holiday cheer to those hospitalized during the holiday season.
