Sports help Poway youngster push past medical obstacles

Kamden Houshan is like many other 6-year-old boys. He loves coloring, Legos, Marvel superheros — especially Spiderman — and playing on the iPad.

But sports is what has given him the biggest boost in a life that has been full of medical obstacles from the very beginning.

Houshan, who just finished kindergarten at Pomerado Elementary School, was born with a tumor in his spinal cord. The diagnosis of the tumor came back “unknown” and eventually was recorded in a journal by the American Academy of Neurology as a congenital giant intramedullary spinal cord schwannoma.

Houshan, who is 3-foot-7 and weighs 45 pounds, has no use of his legs or any muscles from the chest down. But that has not kept him from falling in love with sports and continuing to wear a smile on his face.

“He did not pick up sports on his own,” said Kamden’s mom, Yvonne, as Kamden hit golf balls at a driving range in Escondido from the seat of his wheelchair.

“The doctors scared me a little telling me he needs to exercise because when puberty hits the weight just piles on ... I thought we need to get him into something that is a routine and something that he enjoys.”

Yvonne had never thought of sports as an option until she started to notice other paraplegic’s playing. When Kamden was around 4, he got his first taste of sports and his love for them has continued to grow ever since.

He has played wheelchair basketball, tennis, soccer, sled hockey and golf. He has also done archery, kayaking and cycling among many others.

“We just let him try all the sports,” Yvonne said. “We just have started to get a feel for what sports he can really tolerate.”

The ones he prefers, especially sled hockey, are usually out of the sun.

“He likes the cold,” Yvonne said. “He doesn’t really like to be hot.”

Kamden is excited about attending the 26th annual Junior Wheelchair Sports Camp from Aug. 7 - 11 at North Crown Point Shores Park. The camp teaches a variety of adaptive sports, including softball, basketball, tennis, rugby, archery, bocce ball and handcycling.

The cost for the necessary equipment and training for Kamden to play all of these sports can be expensive. But that’s where the Challenged Athletes Foundation has played a huge role for the Houshans.

The foundation, whose mission is “to provide opportunities and support to people with physical challenges so they can pursue active lifestyles throughout physical fitness and competitive athletics,” has provided over 1,700 athletes across the world with a variety of grants for sports equipment, coaching, mentoring and other things.

Kamden is a first-time grantee of the foundation. The grant has helped offset the expenses of his coaching for sled hockey and wheelchair basketball.

“I filled out the entire form online and then when we got the grant I was so happy,” Yvonne said. “It is nice that I can give him what he wants and he can continue to play.”

And his being able to continue to play has kept his spirits high and his smile a mile wide.