At 14, Paityn C. suddenly became paralyzed and was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). After 14 weeks of intensive inpatient rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, she continued her recovery in DayRehab to build upon her skills in physical and occupational therapy.
With her athletic background and mindset continuing to drive her, Paityn keeps crushing new milestones today!
*She turned 15 and now has her driver’s permit.
*She’s re-engaging in competitive volleyball, recently making the club team.
*She’s planning to give back to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab by participating in SkyRise Chicago, the hospital’s annual stair climb at @willistowerchicago , on Nov. 2!
Keep it up, Paityn! Read her full story on our blog at the link in our bio.
For the 35th year in a row, @usnews has ranked Shirley Ryan AbilityLab the No. 1 rehabilitation hospital in the country. We are the only healthcare organization to hold this record of distinction.
This recognition is more than a number — it’s a reflection of the lives we impact. Every year, we care for more than 50,000 patients. Their progress is our greatest collective achievement.
Read more at the link in our bio.
No one expects to experience a life-changing illness or injury, but deciding what to do next can affect the extent and speed of recovery. Many people need rehabilitation after treatment in an acute-care hospital — and our latest blog explains how an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) helps patients regain physical and cognitive function.
Read more to learn if an IRF like Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the right option for you or your loved one at the link in our bio.
When a patient comes to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab for stroke recovery, they participate in intensive therapy to recover abilities, increase independence and regain function. But, for patients like Danny H., his recovery didn’t stop there.
When Danny was ready to return to his career in office operations following his rehabilitation, he turned to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s vocational rehabilitation team, which offers comprehensive services designed to support patients in preparing for, finding and maintaining employment. His counselor helped him apply for disability benefits and coordinated with his employer on a phased, return-to-work plan. Over time, Danny built stamina and confidence and, today, has resumed a full-time schedule.
Thanks to donor support for our quality-of-life programs like vocational rehabilitation, our team continues to make an impact on patients like Danny.
Just last year, we connected 64 individuals to jobs suiting their ability levels and provided support services — such as one-on-one job counseling, return-to-work evaluations and assistance navigating workplace benefits and disability policies — to hundreds more.
Learn about vocational rehabilitation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and how we help patients rediscover their purpose and pride at work at the link in our bio.
⛵ Big news in adaptive sports on the horizon!
Through a generous gift valued at more than $5 million, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab will offer accessible sailing on Lake Michigan to those with physical impairments. The gift — given by the @juddsailing and the family of Peter and Carol Goldman — will result in what’s to be called Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Program.
“The Goldman family have been friends and steadfast supporters of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab going back decades,” said Pablo A. Celnik, MD, CEO of Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. “We’re deeply honored they’ve entrusted us to help carry their vision forward, and we’re humbled to continue building on their remarkable legacy for generations to come.”
Read more at the link in our bio.
Today, we’re celebrating International Nurses Day by highlighting a few of our amazing team members and the incredible qualities and dedication they bring to patient care.
Interested in joining our team? Join us May 27 to tour our hospital, meet with hiring managers and learn more about nursing at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab. Bring your résumé!
New grads are welcome and nurses with one year or more of experience may be eligible for a $10,000 hiring bonus. Sign up at the link in our bio.
Creating a custom prosthesis is a multi-step process that includes a patient evaluation, casting appointment, prosthetic fitting and, finally, delivery — the day when a patient picks up their prosthesis and undergoes a final check for fit and function.
One of our expert certified prosthetist orthotists, Ashley Zinnamon, CPO, joined us to break down this process step by step.
Read the full Q&A with Ashley at the link in our bio.
As part of our regular “Ask the Expert” series, we’re featuring Ashley Zinnamon, CPO. Ashley is a certified prosthetist orthotist at our Homewood DayRehab Center and a prosthetic user herself. Meaningful visits with her childhood prosthetist inspired her career as a CPO today.
In this video, Ashley shares insights about her clinical role as a CPO, her personal experience with amputation and her advice for those who have recently experienced limb loss.
Read the full Q&A with Ashley at the link in our bio.
In honor of National Stroke Awareness Month, meet Pablo P., whose mindset after experiencing a stroke before the age of 40 is to “fear nothing!”
Pablo came to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab for inpatient and outpatient stroke rehabilitation, recovering his mobility and cognitive abilities. When outpatient therapy ended, he felt he would benefit from additional therapeutic activities to continue his recovery, to build strength and endurance, and to improve his overall fitness.
He discovered adaptive sports at Shirley Ryan AbiltiyLab. Today, Pablo has found fitness, confidence and community through everything from adaptive sailing to cycling, rock climbing and skiing.
Read Pablo’s full story — and see what adaptive sport is next on his list at the link in our bio.
Stem cell therapy has long been seen as a promising way to help the body repair itself and rejuvenate aged tissues. However, scientists have lacked an answer to a key question: What exactly makes these cells so powerful?
A first-of-its-kind study by research scientists Mitra Lavasani, PhD, and Seth Thompson, PhD, in Shirley Ryan AbilityLab’s Transitional Cell Therapy Lab suggests the answer may not be in the stem cells themselves, but in the secreted proteins they release. The new research, recently published in Aging Cell, explores the rejuvenating effects of these stem cell proteins — and opens the door to developing more targeted protein therapies for anti-aging effects.
Read our research spotlight to learn more at the link in our bio.
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is home to some of the most brilliant minds in the world. What advice would they give to kids as they contemplate future careers? At our recent Take Your Kids to Work Day, our “kid correspondent” was back at it, picking up pearls of wisdom from Dr. Pablo Celnik, CEO, Dr. Cheri Blauwet, chief clinical officer, and others.
Remember, it’s never too early to start thinking about careers at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab! Learn more at the link in our bio.
“What I love about OT is that OT is everything!”
As we close out National Occupational Therapy Month for 2026, we asked a few of our occupational therapists to share insights about their careers in OT — from what they love most about working with our patients to how they’ve applied their OT skills to different clinical and non-clinical roles at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.
Swipe to meet our OTs and learn more about occupational therapy at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at the link in our bio.
