LEXINGTON, Ky. — A former patient of Shriners Children's Lexington is set to make history in Paris. 

Zion Redington, 18, is headed to the 2024 Paralympics, where he will compete as the youngest member of the United States wheelchair rugby team. 

Redington was born in China with ectrodactyly, a genetic condition causing him to have just one finger on each hand and one toe on each foot. While he had no problem walking, he continuously broke his toes, causing constant pain. He had his feet amputated at Shriners Children's when he was 6 years old before undergoing three surgeries and developing a relationship with his doctor, pediatric orthopedic surgeon Ryan Muchow.

He now exercises with both prosthetics and wheelchairs and no longer needs to deal with the pain of broken toes. His mother, Heather Redington-Whitlock, said she credits Shriners Children’s for helping him develop his passion for wheelchair athletics.

“The care at Shriners Children’s was so personalized,” Redington-Whitlock said in a release. “It was such a magical experience for us there. Zion loved walking around in the facility where he could play basketball, talk to other amputees and build relationships with the Shriners Children’s staff. When Dr. Muchow communicated with us, he did so with such grace and love and just compassion. He was a superhero to me.”

Redington was the youngest player ever named to the Paralympic rugby team at 17 years old. He played both wheelchair rugby and basketball growing up and developed a love of rugby through its intense physicality after picking up the sport as a 9-year-old.

“Shriners Children’s gave us the education and opportunities to learn about adaptive sports and what all Zion could do,” Redington-Whitlock said. “Zion sat in a chair designed for basketball for the first time at Shriners Children’s. They showed us netball and many other sports which allowed us to realize, ‘Hey, people really do play in their chairs.’"

"As a mom, Shriners Children’s gave me the opportunity to see there’s a whole new world for Zion as an amputee.”

The 2024 Paralympics begin Wednesday, Aug. 28, with the U.S. wheelchair rugby team beginning action Thursday, Aug. 29 against Canada.

Shriners Children's offers pediatric specialty care, and children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palate are eligible for care.