Shriners Hospital Employee Gets ‘Re ady To Rumble’ (NAPSA)—Christin Hasara always gives it her best shot— whether she is helping patients determine what wheelchair is best for them or getting ready to go into the ring. Hasara is the wheelchair and stopped each match asonefighter severely outmatched the other in both fights. It was timefor the big match. Hasara’s opponent was intro- seating coordinator at Shriners Hospital for Children in Philadel- phia. She helps patients determine what wheelchair is best for them. She also teaches the patients how to managetheir wheelchair and its proper maintenance. Hasara is also a boxer, who started a boxing fitness class at her gym last September. After only two months, her instructor asked her if she would be interested in boxing another woman. Hasara thought, “Why not,” and accepted. “We started training in November of 2000,” Hasara said. “And after January Istit really tookoff! I used the heavy bags and jump ropes like anyone else would. But I had to learn how to defend. We didn’t even go overthatin class.” Hasara’s diet rivaled that of a fighter. “Tt was high protein with many energy bars,” said Hasara. As the training continued, Christin Hasara, a Philadelphia Shriners Hospital employee,pulls no punchesin the boxing ring. Hasara developed knee problems that plagued her going into the fight, but she just fought through the pain. Originally Hasara’s match was going to be thefifth of the evening, right in the middle of the card. Perfect, or so she thought. Some of the other fighters never showed up and the line-up was juggled. With short notice, her fight was moved to third of the evening. Then the two fights before hers were quickly over. The referee duced. With an announced record of 15 to 0, with 15 knockouts, her opponent, “Tally,” sounded like a seasoned fighter and had the bruises to proveit. “She knocked out my left contact lens with her first punch,” Hasara now laughs. “That really threw me. I fought the rest of the fight seeing out of only one eye.” During the fight, Hasara turned sideways so there was less body area to hit, then she tried several punch combinations. Whenthefinal bell rang, and with no knockout, the judges went to the scorecards. The two fighters gasped for air as they awaited the official announcement of the winner. It was a unanimousdecision. Hasara won the match. Shriners Hospital co-workers agreed with the judges’ decision. “Christin had good form,” said Luis Varela, director of Informa- tion Services at the Philadelphia Shriners Hospital. “She was very tenacious.”
