In our 125 years serving children and families across the Chicagoland area, we have touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of kids. Sometimes we are lucky enough to reconnect with former patients who are excited to share the impact that La Rabida had on their life.
Catherine Campisi was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when she was 10 years old. “It was quite shocking for me to receive this diagnosis. For the first few years, I had periodic flare ups with high fevers and a great deal of pain. At one point, I became severely anemic and had to have a blood transfusion.” Catherine came to La Rabida as an inpatient on several occasions, including spending the entirety of her senior year on our inpatient unit for intensive physical therapy.
When she thinks back on her time at La Rabida, Catherine recalls having an amazing experience working with Dr. Burton Grossman and Thelma Pendleton, PT. “One very memorable moment is when Dr. Grossman told me he thought I needed to start using a wheelchair. I was very resistant to the idea, but it was getting harder and harder for me to walk and distances were impossible. After his direction, I started using the wheelchair and found it truly liberated me. Although I did not want to hear it, his message gave me a life!” During Catherine’s time at La Rabida, she made several friends and even got the chance to meet Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh during one of his visits to Chicago.
Years later, in 1980, Catherine had both sets of knees and hips replaced. “The surgeries allowed me to stand and walk much more. I can still walk about 40 feet unassisted which has helped a lot with travel and to maintain my strength,” shared Catherine. “I think the intense PT at La Rabida helped with the positive outcome many years later.”
Since leaving La Rabida, Catherine has had an impressive career advocating for those living with disabilities. “My motto was ‘I do not want to change people with disabilities to adapt to an unfair, discriminatory world. I want to change the world to adapt to the needs of people with disabilities.’ I carried that motto for decades and still do in my volunteer work after retirement.”
Catherine studied psychology at Southern Illinois University where she said she started to form a positive identity as a person with a disability. She then went on to get her Master’s at San Diego State and her Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. After completing school, Catherine went to work for the San Diego Community College District helping to implement Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which called for a variety of services and accessibility for students and others with disabilities. She then went to work for Chancellor’s Office at the CA Community Colleges to change policies and develop programs for students with disabilities in higher education. Catherine later became the Director of the CA Department of Rehabilitation, where she worked with Governor Davis and Governor Schwarzenegger.
Catherine is now 73, married, and splits her time between Long Beach and Sacramento. Her husband, Ralph, is an attorney and has been blind nearly his whole life. Pre-pandemic, they loved to travel together – visiting places like Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, and Fiji.
This story was featured in the May 2021 issue of eCurrents. Read the full issue here.
