Former Shriners patient qualifies for second Paralympics appearance

SPOKANE, Wash. — A Former Shriners Children’s Spokane patient will compete in her second Paralympics this summer.

Hannah Dederick, 21, is following in the footsteps of her mentor and wheelchair racing legend Susannah Scaroni, who received care at the same hospital in the nonprofit healthcare system.

Dederick was born with spina bifida in China before being adopted from an orphanage and coming to the United States. After moving to Spokane in 2012, she became a patient at Shriners Children's Spokane a year later.

“Shriners Children’s was definitely a welcoming experience and environment,” Dederick said. “I’ve never been to a more diverse children’s hospital, there were kids there who had physical disabilities of all kinds."

Dederick competed in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics and placed fourth in the 100 and 11th in the 400.

Since then, she moved to Illinois to train with the legendary University of Illinois wheelchair racing team, where Scaroni also trains, in preparation for the 2024 and 2028 Paralympics.

On May 5, Dederick honored Scaroni’s legacy by winning the Bloomsday race in Spokane, an event Scaroni has won multiple times, including the previous three races before 2024.

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