Making a Pitch for the Award-Winning Work at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross is a Job for...Superman!

While attending a conference a few months ago, Genevieve Shimkus, Stroke Program Coordinator at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, heard of a unique opportunity to highlight the hospital's award-winning neurosciences program for those who may be in need of therapy and support.

"The United Stroke Alliance has a program called 'Striking Out Stroke,' where they work with local baseball teams for stroke awareness," Shimkus said. "So, I put them in touch with the Joliet Slammers."

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That meeting resulted in a "Strike Out Stroke" Slammers game set for Friday, Aug. 21.

But who would get to throw out the first pitch? Shimkus knew it was a job for … Superman!

Therapists at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab at Silver Cross called Clarke Christiansen "Superman," in part, because his first name nearly matched Krypton's favorite son's alter ego, but also because of the effort and persistence put in during his recovery there following a severe stroke in August 2023.

He continued to prove that the day after his release from there.

"Every September, our New Lenox VFW Post has what we call a Ruck March, to help raise funds for veteran suicide awareness," said Christiansen, 55, post commander for the past three and a half years.

"I hate to disappoint people. So I tell them what I want to do, and commit to things. I was going to walk half the distance, 10 miles, in the following year's march. I started slowly, walking a few miles each morning with the dog, sometimes on the Old Plank Trail."

When the September 2024 Ruck March came around, he was ready. Christiansen walked the 10 miles in 2024, along with his wife, Jenn, dog, Velma, and an Occupational Therapist from the AbilityLab at Silver Cross.

He missed the march in 2025 when he and his pup took a vacation to Yellowstone. Shimkus, who saw Christiansen when he returned now and then to the Stroke Support Group, knew she had a great choice to show what he, and the therapists there, can do.

"Oh, my gosh, Clarke is the perfect person," she said. "He had such a severe stroke, and now he is doing so well!"

Christiansen said he is honored, but a little wary. The August 21 "Strike Out Stroke" event is nearly three years to the day when he went from feeling "off" and fingers tingling, to near incapacitation within a few days.

"I said I don't know how far I'll be able to throw, but Genevieve said, 'Ah, we'll figure it out.'"

Christiansen has been able to resume mostly a normal life, retiring from his remote IT job at the end of last year. He has resumed his beloved Jiu Jitsu classes, even teaching a couple morning sessions each week, talking students through the exercises instead of demonstrating.

"I can walk unassisted, but I can't run. And my grip strength is back."

Christiansen also has applied to volunteer in the AbilityLab at Silver Cross as a counselor to help those going through what he did.

"You don't usually see a person my age who has had a major stroke and fought through weeks and months of recovery," he said.

His determination to try anything the therapists urged had him gaining back his strength within a week.

"I figured I had two choices: I could sit there and do nothing, and never get any better; or work hard and get better. Having a positive mental attitude made everything easier."

Christiansen's attitude made him a favorite on the neuro floor as well. Inspired by his "superhuman strength" in his recovery, his care team presented him with a Superman T-shirt on his last day in the unit, symbolizing what a superhero he was in their eyes.

"I still have a lot of work to do, but I also have a lot of life to live."

Asked if he'll don his Superman shirt for the August 21 Slammers game: "I guess I'd better!"

To learn more about the stroke program at Silver Cross, visit silvercross.org