Limb Loss Awareness Month: Meet Shirley Ryan AbilityLab's Clinical Prosthetics & Orthotics Team

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During Limb Loss Awareness Month this April, meet our Prosthetics & Orthotics (P&O) team members from throughout our sites of care!

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In college, I was enrolled in an engineering program and worked as a swimming coach for kids training to compete in the Special Olympics. Two of the kids I coached had transtibial amputations, and I was mesmerized by their ability to move and use their prostheses in the water. They were all a lot of fun to coach and I learned from them as well.

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I really like working with people with spinal cord injuries. There is a wide range of variety, and no two patients are the same.

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I really like our collaboration. I like to talk through ideas, problems and solutions with my co-workers to achieve the best outcomes for patients. 

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I would like to time travel, but only back in time. I am interested in historical events and inventions, and I think it would be interesting to see how it all “played out.” Traveling forward in time, however, is a slippery slope of knowledge. 

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In college, I was trying to figure out a career path and looking into all sorts of medical careers: MD, nursing and Allied Health therapy disciplines. I thought they all were interesting, but none really spoke to me. I had no idea that the field of prosthetics and orthotics existed until a friend of my parents connected me with the P&O clinic at the University of Michigan. I showed up for a tour, shadowed a few clinicians and instantly knew that this was what I wanted to do.

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I love working with kids. When I was younger, I was always a babysitter, a camp counselor and a Best Buddies volunteer. Now, as a mom to my own kiddos, it just feels natural to continue with this population. I love building relationships with patients and their families.

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I really enjoy the combination of science, patient interaction and hands-on work. Each day, I get to be involved in the scientific and medical aspects of my job, interact with new and interesting people, and build things. Every day is different and every day is exciting. We also have an excellent staff, which makes work an enjoyable place to be — which is not a small thing!

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There are two pieces, actually. One: You can’t control other people’s actions, but you can control your reaction to them. Second: Things don’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.

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I have an engineering background, and I was looking for a career where I would be able to work directly with people while also building things and using the analytical, problem-solving part of my brain. P&O is an awesome blend of art, science and patient care that you can’t find anywhere else.

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One of my favorite aspects of this field is we work with a huge variety of patient populations. Each patient is so different and special — and I love the challenge of creating a prosthesis or orthosis that will meet their specific needs. The more unique and challenging the presentation, the happier I am when I get patients something they like. 

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I love the open collaboration. Everyone in the department is approachable and always willing to help you learn. I love being able to work in an interdisciplinary environment — being able to share knowledge and provide excellent, cohesive care to patients.

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I would want the ability to fix things that are broken just by touching them — partly because patients break things all the time  — and partly because I break things all the time!

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I once watched a movie about the world ending where one of the main characters was playing a person with an amputation who used a prosthetic. At the time, I was on track to go to Rush University’s nursing program, but that movie sparked my interest in P&O. Now, I’ve been in the field for five years, and I still can’t identify the name of the movie that changed my career! After many failed attempts of trying to look it up, I’m now convinced I may have dreamt it.

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I truly enjoy working with all my patients, but if I absolutely have to pick one, it’s the pediatric population. They are cute, blunt and always surprising, and I joke with my partner that I want a whole football starting lineup of kids.

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I love my co-workers. I’ve never worked at a place where I truly enjoyed working with everyone. I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoy and care about every one of my SRAlab co-workers. They’re the best team I can have, and it’s an honor to work beside them.

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The best advice I’ve received is to trust that everything will work out. I apply this to my life all the time, especially under stressful situations. Seeing as though I decided to drop out of nursing school before even starting because of a movie I saw, I think I am living proof of this advice: now, I work at the No. 1 rehabilitation hospital's P&O department, and I am the only person in the history of SRAlab with my job title.

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P&O is personal for me. I was born with proximal femoral focal deficiency (PFFD), and my family was introduced to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Chicago, which was the only place I saw other children with physical difference. I’ve worn a prosthesis since I was walking age. However, I didn’t consider P&O as a career until my prosthetist — whom I still work with today — asked if it was something I would be interested in doing.

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I can’t say that I do, I’ve worked with all ages and levels of involvement, and I enjoy working with them all.

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The open communication and willingness of colleagues to work together and help each other.

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"Work smart, not hard."

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After I received my BS in occupational therapy, I enjoyed working with folks and the problem-solving and creative process in OT — however, I recognized strong introvert tendencies in myself. A close friend of mine was having similar misgivings, and said he was looking into going into prosthetics. I joined him in a visit to speak with a prosthetist. Soon after, I decided to enroll in Northwestern's PX program, and later orthotics.

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Not really. I enjoy working with all kinds of people. I have learned so much about life from the great variety of backgrounds I have come in contact with.

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Here at the Burr Ridge location, there is a sense of camaraderie and team approach to patient care. I truly work with some of the very best human beings I have ever known. We constantly bring out the best in each other. I love my coworkers!

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We are here to awaken from our illusion of separateness.

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My super power would be to eliminate all suffering from all beings. And I would make it so.  May all beings be free from suffering.

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I was looking to make a career change and was interested in healthcare because I wanted to directly help people. At the time, I had no idea that P&O even existed as a profession! While shadowing a physical therapist, I stumbled across a P&O clinic. Once I saw P&O used a combination of treating patients, problem solving and working with your hands, I was hooked.

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At Burr Ridge, I treat a mix of pediatric and adult patients, which is a good balance for me. When I worked in inpatient, I enjoyed seeing the progress and recovery of patients recovering from stroke, and helping them by providing AFOs for them to do therapy safely.

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The people. My colleagues and I always share about difficult cases and celebrate when things go well. I also really love being part of the interdisciplinary team and collaborating with therapists and physicians.

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It's two, actually. One, whatever it is, it can almost always be fixed in Orthotics. And two, when you’re working on something and a part drops, don’t try to catch it! Let it fall, step back and then look on the ground for it.

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After I graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in industrial design, I was putting together my portfolio and looking for temporary work for the summer. I answered an ad looking for a P&O tech — I had never heard of P&O then, but the only requirement was having hand skills and I had made 3D models in school. After that first job, I got very interested in the field. I worked for several years as a technician, then went back to school to become a clinician. I never did finish that design portfolio.

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Seeing how pediatric patients adapt to their own situations can teach us adults a lot. I just love getting in the frame of mind to communicate with them, and never tire of the unique worldview of fresh young minds.

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The support and companionship of my colleagues is the best aspect of working here. There is always someone to bounce an idea off of, and because we are creative people, there is very little judgment. We have some very open minds always looking to learn more.

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Hands down, it would be the ability to duplicate myself. There are always more projects I could be doing, and then I could dump the boring work on my clone!