When 7-year-old Rhyat Nadolski arrived at Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals, she faced challenges most children her age could never imagine.
After developing transverse myelitis in July, a rare neurological condition that causes paralysis and significant weakness, everyday tasks suddenly became difficult. Sitting up independently, moving her arms and legs and completing basic activities all required help.
Rhyat went to the emergency room at Bryan Health in Lincoln, Nebraska before being flown to Children’s Hospital in Omaha. Her body was weak, but her spirit was strong.
From the moment Madonna’s specialized pediatric therapists met Rhyat on August 10, they recognized that spirit as something special that would help her greatly in her rehabilitation journey.
“From the first day that I met her, she just had a very strong will,” Caitlin Lewis, PT, DPT, Rhyat’s physical therapist, said. “She had goals that she was going to set for herself and she was bound and determined to get there.”
That determination quickly became a driving force in her recovery.
Specialized technology helps support recovery
At Madonna, Rhyat’s therapy team used leading-edge rehabilitation technologies, including the Lokomat robotic gait trainer and functional electrical stimulation (FES) bike, to help her work toward improved strength, mobility and independence.
The technology gave Rhyat new opportunities for movement and stretching while giving therapists additional tools to help her reach her goals.
Occupational therapist Alysa McKenny, OTR/L, CAPS, said Rhyat eagerly embraced every challenge.
“She loved working with our rehab technology and was game to try anything,” McKenny said. “It was a lot of fun to work with her and the technology.”
But some of Rhyat’s biggest victories happened outside structured therapy sessions.
“One of the things that was most fun about working with Rhyat is that she would figure stuff out on her own, even outside of therapy sessions,” McKenny said. “She would show up and be like, ‘Look what I learned how to do!'”
Whether it was finding a new way to complete a task or practicing a skill on her own, Rhyat was constantly looking for ways to become more independent.
A personality built for the challenge
For her mom, Keri Nadolski, the determination that carried Rhyat through rehabilitation wasn’t something new.
“Rhyat has a personality,” Keri said. “I call her a little pistol, but she’s very strong willed and she’s going to make things happen.”
In fact, she believes those qualities prepared her daughter for this journey long before it began.
“I’m pretty convinced that God gave her this personality from the get-go for this exact situation,” she said.
Therapists witnessed that same mindset every day.
“She was like, ‘I want to do it and I’m going to figure it out,'” McKenny said. “That’s just her personality and she gets it done.”
Small victories become major milestones
As the weeks progressed, those efforts translated into meaningful gains.
When Rhyat first arrived at Madonna, her trunk and core strength were significantly impacted. Over time, she regained the ability to sit up independently, use her arms more effectively and complete self-care activities on her own.
For her family, one of the most exciting moments came when movement began returning to her legs.
“We went a long time without seeing any movement of her legs,” Keri said. “Getting to see them move and Rhyat being able to adjust herself by lifting her legs and using the different tools that the therapists here have given her to be independent is really exciting.”
Looking back, Keri is impressed by how much progress her daughter has made in such a short time.
“It’s pretty amazing looking back on our journey, all the things that she’s already able to do just since all of this happened in July,” she said.
Looking ahead
While Rhyat’s recovery journey continues in Madonna’s outpatient Rehabilitation Day program, her care team remains confident the same qualities that helped her achieve success in inpatient therapies will serve her well in the future.
“I really believe that she’s going to be able to do anything she puts her mind to,” McKenny said.