GLENROSE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION  | 35
Twenty years later, the ceremony has grown 
into a tradition that’s recognized dozens 
of Albertans who have rebuilt their lives 
after burns, strokes, amputations, and other 
complex injuries, diagnoses, and conditions. 
“I thought we were creating a recognition event,” he says. “What 
we actually created was an engine of hope.” 
Each recipient’s story reaches patients at some of the most 
difficult moments of their lives, reminding them that healing 
is possible. And those recipients, they often go on to become 
mentors, volunteers, and advocates in their own communities. 
Over the years, Kassam says the recipients have also changed his 
perspective. “I once thought my own recovery was remarkable,” 
he reflects, “and then I met people who relearned how to walk, 
speak, and live in a changed body, and who did it with grace 
and even humour.”
Today, those stories live on through the Wall of Courage at the 
Glenrose, where patients, families, staff, and visitors can read the 
stories of recipients through the years. 
The award’s mission, he argues, has never been more important. 
“Our population is aging rapidly; so many diseases, including 
cardiovascular disease, have become more prevalent with the 
aging process,” he says. “This is only one example out of so many 
other conditions that our society is now challenged to deal with.” 
As demographics shift, the demand for rehabilitation care grows. 
Kassam hopes the Courage Awards continue to grow alongside 
that need, transforming stories of resilience into awareness, 
awareness into support, and support into more patient 
recoveries.  Looking back, it’s remarkable to think it all began with 
one person’s encouragement on an indoor running track: “Run 
like a deer.” For Manny, those words became a reminder that life 
offered another chance, and a challenge for him to help others 
find theirs. 
Twenty years after founding the Courage Awards, he still believes 
in what inspired him from the start. “Courage is renewable,” he 
says. There will always be stories worth telling, and courage 
worth celebrating. 
Standing 
there, a former 
rehabilitation 
patient myself, 
honouring 
another 
patient, was 
a full-circle 
moment.
– Manny Kassam
Left to right: Mansur (Manny) Kassam, recipient 
Spencer Beach, and Isabel Henderson, former Senior 
Operating Officer at the Glenrose Rehabilitation 
Hospital at the 2006 Award of Courage event.

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