The bright lights of the stage illuminated RaeAnne, a 34-year-old former patient of Shriners Children’s Chicago from central Illinois, as she was crowned the new Ms. Wheelchair USA 2024–2025. Her journey to this moment began after years of exceptional care at Shriners Children’s. There, she found strength, purpose and the desire to make a difference for other families facing disabilities.
RaeAnne was diagnosed with a rare neurological disorder by her pediatrician when she was 10 months old. Her family sought a second opinion at Shriners Children’s, where the team determined she had transverse myelitis, a condition that can cause weakness, numbness or paralysis. At the time of her diagnosis, she was the youngest child known to have the condition.
RaeAnne received treatment from the spinal cord injury (SCI) inpatient rehabilitation specialists at Shriners Children’s Chicago. Facing years of occupational and physical therapy, as well as scoliosis surgery at age 11, was a challenge for the youngster. “I struggled a lot with my disability, but my team at Shriners Children’s Chicago always had confidence in me,” RaeAnne says.
Sara Klaas, MSW, CCM, C-ASWCM, was director of the SCI program at the time and treated RaeAnne. “Though the illness shaped RaeAnne’s childhood, it never defined her. She has a spirit of resilience and a determination to live without limits,” Klaas says.
RaeAnne is now a licensed social worker, a published author and research assistant at Vanderbilt University. “I promised myself I was going to be an advocate for future generations of individuals with disabilities, as all of the advocates at Shriners Children’s Chicago and beyond were for me.”
