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Kentucky Teen Picked To Represent Shriners As Ambassador

Posted at 2:16 PM, Jul 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-09 11:47:56-04

LEXINGTON, Ky (LEX 18) Each year Shriners Hospitals For Children selects two national patient ambassadors. This year, one of them is from Kentucky.

Lily Silverstein, 18, is part of the Shiners Hospital family.

"I’ve been here probably 17 or 18 years now," she told LEX 18.

She was born without a Fibula, one of the main bones in the leg. Silverstein had to have her foot amputated at just 7-months-old. 

Over the years, she’s returned to Shriners for routine care. On Monday, she had her prosthetic looked at by a specialist there. 

Now, Silverstein has a chance to sing the praises of the hospital she loves so much as one of just two national ambassadors for Shriners.

"I think I actually cried when I first heard I was, I’m just really excited," she said.

Silverstein will spend the next year appearing at events like the Rose Parade and even a PGA Tournament. She’ll also spend time talking with patients with journies similar to her own.

"It gives me a lot of chances to travel, to meet a lot of people, meet a lot of patients and to really spread the word about what Shriners is doing and what Shriners has done for me," she said. 

One of Silverstein’s favorite things about Shriners is their holistic approach in caring for patients, which is something she took to heart. This fall, she will be a sophomore at UK and she is in the nursing program in hopes of becoming a pediatric nurse. She hopes to work for Shriners one day.

"I keep on telling them it’s not that easy to get rid of me, I’m gonna be around for a while," she said.

The other ambassador is a 17-year-old patient from Tampa, Florida.