Amputee hits runway for a good cause

January 31, 2023 Jaime DeJesus

Patrick Filosa rocks the runway in his Mets jersey.

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A Bensonhurst man is inspiring young amputees.

Patrick Filosa, 34, participated in Show Your Shine, a red carpet runway event held in Long Island Jan. 21. All models were people with limb loss.

The event was held by the Limb Kind Foundation, an organization that focuses on improving the lives of children with limb loss by strengthening the amputee community and providing prosthetic care to all.

Filosa was born with neurofibromatosis and his leg was amputated when he was 23.

Patrick Filosa rocks the runway in his Mets jersey. Photos by Bob Arkow

His prosthetist Robert Schulman, founder of the Limb Kind Foundation, and event organizer Jill Schulman Smith asked him if he’d be one of their models. He gladly agreed, sporting the jersey of his favorite team, the New York Mets.

“The event shows them that you should never give up on your dreams and it shows people that confidence can go a long way,” said Filosa, referring to young amputees. “It means the world to me that I’m able to inspire so many others, especially the ones who look like me.”

All proceeds went to the Limb Kind Foundation and its upcoming mission trip to Ethiopia to provide free prostheses to children in need.