See Care in a New Light

After he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome (a rare neurological condition), Tyler’s art career ground to a halt. But with rehabilitation at Madonna, he was back to work in just months. His care team customized his rehabilitation plan and enrolled him in Madonna’s Work Re-Entry program to simulate aspects of his studio work and incorporate specific job skills into his therapy.

“I have a really good (recovery) story because I’m mobile and able to do it all,” Tyler said. “To know that I’m doing this well with three more months of healing helps me know that I’m going to be OK. That’s all thanks to Madonna.”

Severe migraines revealed that Skylar experienced a brain bleed. The aspiring doctor spent 51 days in the ICU before coming to Madonna’s brain injury program, arriving unable to move or eat.  But his therapy helped him regain his ability to eat, drink and walk with assistance while improving his peripheral vision, reaction time and coordination.

“Skylar has made tremendous progress. When he arrived, he could only nod to answer questions and was getting nutrition through a tube,” said Dr. Matthew Driewer, medical director at Madonna Rehabilitation Specialty Hospital. “Once he was able to start talking, his personality really came out. He’s a smart, determined young man, and that shows every day in his progress.”

Dabi passed out in his college dorm room and woke up in the hospital eight days later weak, experiencing paralysis and diagnosed with viral meningitis. After six weeks in acute care, he was transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals and began to rebuild his leg muscles, coordination and athleticism through an individualized rehabilitation program incorporating his love of sports. Dabi walked out of Madonna and returned to his active life of hiking, cycling and recreational sports.

“I didn’t even think I’d be walking when I got out of here,” Dabi said. “The rehab helped me because it was going from doing exercises to help me regain control of my body again back to doing speed- and agility-type things that I would do in sports.”

Rosie has spent most of her young life living with illness: She was diagnosed with leukemia at 11 months old. She contracted acute flaccid myelitis (AFM), a rare neurological, polio-like disease at age two. When she experienced respiratory failure, she was admitted to Madonna’s pediatric rehabilitation program and relied on a ventilator. But at Madonna, the toddler relearned to sit, stand, walk and feed herself and only needs breathing support at night.

“She’s starting to take her socks off and feed herself and all kinds of great 2-year-old things,” said Kelly Bolz, Rosie’s occupational therapist at Madonna. “She’s made leaps and bounds.”

A car accident left Jayslynn with serious brain trauma. The teenager spent four months in Madonna retraining her body through hours of daily physical, occupational and speech therapy. Over time, she began to breathe, talk and walk on her own. Her customized therapy plan helped her relearn skills for her favorite sport (softball) and continue schoolwork in Madonna’s Therapeutic Learning Center.

“She made so much progress while she was here,” said Bridget Mulhall, a Creighton University occupational therapy student who worked with Jayslynn. “Seeing the therapy that we were implementing resonate with her right away—and to have her bring that into not just OT but PT and speech—was amazing.”

Just days after passing the bar exam, Shantel was involved in a shooting that left her with a spinal cord injury. She was admitted to Madonna’s Spinal Cord Injury Program and her rehabilitation has helped her regain mobility. The aquatic therapy program allowed Shantel to take her first steps since the accident while she strengthened her legs with technology including the Moveo XP and the Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) bike.

“When I first came from the hospital to Madonna, I couldn’t even sit up by myself,” Shantel said. “Now I look at myself, and I’m doing car transfers and breaking down wheelchairs and getting into the car. I’m maintaining my sitting where I can play catch with my therapists.”