2025 Annual Meeting and Socrates Award Presentation

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation’s 2025 Board and Advisory Board meeting was held Sunday, March 2nd at Sunset Ridge Country Club in Northfield, IL. This event included the presentation of the 2024 Socrates Awards. Amanda Hogle, Recreational Therapist with Shriners Childrens Hospital, was the guest speaker.

2024 Socrates Award Grants Announced

Three Inspiring Paralyzed Individuals Awarded Lifetime Grants from Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation

The Socrates Award recognizes individuals who have overcome disability with annual grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Christopher Brennan
Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation
847-372-7429
cjb1133@gmail.com

CHICAGO – December 30, 2024 – Every year in the U.S., an estimated 17,000 people survive a spinal cord injury. While treatment and follow-up care varies according to the severity of the injury, medical expenses can easily exceed $500,000 in the first year alone.

These staggering costs have inspired the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation to create the Socrates Award, a lifetime cash grant to provide individuals with paralysis caused by illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of the use of one’s limbs with economic resources for therapy, equipment, prescriptions, and in-home care.

This year, three recipients have been selected to receive the Socrates Award for their efforts in working to achieve personal success while pursuing the daily grind of physical rehabilitation and recovery.

• Michael Lopez: Michael Lopez, a 26- year-old who recently suffered a life-changing spinal cord injury following a tragic diving accident. Now a quadriplegic with no use of his legs and limited use of his arms, Michael has spent the last several months in medical and rehab facilities in Virginia and Colorado. He finally returns home to Albuquerque.  Michael is a well-loved young man who was just beginning his independent adult life following graduation from Albuquerque Academy and Colorado College. Although he faces many struggles, Michael remains hopeful that he will be able to one day return to a productive life in the community through the support of family and friends.

• Jared Dickman: Jared Dickman was involved in a car accident that left him in critical condition. He was hospitalized in the ICU at Mercy Health Hospital in Rockford. Unfortunately, each year around 250,000 individuals experience some form of paralysis as a result of a car accident. Car accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries for people under 65 years of age. Despite Jared’s injuries from his accident, he is committed to recovery and physical therapy towards regaining his independence. 

• Sydni Mell : According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms, with 4,000 of these injuries due to farm work in 2014. Sydni Mell grew up on a southern Wisconsin dairy farm and understands that statistic all too well. After a fall while working,  Syndi had a long stent in the ICU and after a five-hour back surgery, Sydni remained paralyzed from the waist down. Sydni has put in hard work and long hours to be able to return to college, using her wheelchair. She credits having a big support system and a great ag community that has inspired her to push forward. She is studying dairy science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, set to graduate this spring.

Since 2018, the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation annually recognizes the accomplishments of paralyzed individuals through the Socrates Award. The award was originally created by Christopher Brennan, Chairman of the Foundation, during his tenure in sports media, and his late father, Terry Brennan, a former head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, to honor collegiate athletes who achieved a combination of athletic and academic success. The award embodies the mantra of the Socrates creed, generally derived from the Latin phrase “mens sana in corpore sano” which translates to “Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body.”

“After personally suffering a spinal cord injury, the Socrates creed took on a profound meaning for me,” says Christopher Brennan. “I am honored to award these individuals who recognize that like a sport, life itself is full of incredible highs and frustrating lows, and that the daily pursuit of ‘a healthy mind’ and ‘a healthy body’ in the face of adversity is the true testament of one’s character.”

This year, the Socrates Award recipients will each receive a $1,000 grant and the Foundation anticipates that number to continue to grow in tandem with the organization’s fundraising efforts and events. The honorees, as well as past awardees, will be recognized at the Annual Board and Advisory Board meeting in March, 2025.

About

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation is a 501c3 charitable foundation located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Foundation is committed to helping individuals, who have suffered cervical spinal injuries causing physical and cognitive disabilities, and their families and communities, by providing financial resources to help ensure a continuum of rehabilitation resources and provide opportunities for individuals to ultimately reach optimal health and independence. Please visit www.brennanrehabfoundation.org to learn more about donation opportunities and future fundraising events.

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2024 Annual Meeting and Socrates Award Presentation

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation’s 2024 Board and Advisory Board meeting was held Sunday, March 3rd at Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette, IL. This event included the presentation of the 2023 Socrates Awards.

Save the Date! 2024 Annual Meeting and Socrates Award Presentation

Invite friends and family to honor the awardees!

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation would like to thank all individual and corporate donors for your continued support of our mission through the “Double Down on Disabilities” Fund. The Foundation applies donations of cash and in-kind services to help individuals and their families burdened with the physical, emotional and financial stress of a spinal cord injury. As a 501-C3 all volunteer charitable organization, 100% of your donations goes toward this mission.

On Sunday March 3th, the 2023 Socrates Award recipients will be honored at the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation’s Annual Board and Advisory Board meeting held at The Michigan Shores Club in Wilmette, Illinois from 4-7pm. Please join us! Be aware seating is limited, so please make your reservation soon!

Dr. Kathy Zebracki, Ph.D., will be our keynote speaker. Dr. Zebracki is the Chief of Psychology at Shriners Children’s Chicago, Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Clinical Professor of Psychology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science.

Dr. Zebracki received her BS from Northwestern University and MA and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Zebracki completed her psychology residency at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago (now Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago) and fellowship at Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Zebracki is a fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions of Pediatric Psychology and Rehabilitation Psychology) and of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA). And Dr. Zebracki is an active clinician, researcher, and educator, whose clinical interests are in the care of youth with physical disabilities and chronic health conditions. Dr. Zebracki’s research is in the area of psychosocial and medical outcomes of youth with spinal cord dysfunctions, including spinal cord injury and spina bifida.

Please visit the donation page on our website to make your reservation. Reservations per person are $30 in advance by using the donation page, and $40 at the event.

Attire is business casual. Refreshments and hors d’oeuvres will be served.

Learn more about the 2023 Socrates Award recipients

Annually, both new and past Socrates Award recipients are recognized for their daily pursuit of a “healthy mind in a healthy body” in the face of true adversity. Please join us to celebrate these incredible individuals whose inner discipline and mental toughness is an inspiration for us all.

If you know somebody whom you believe would be an excellent recipient of this award and the ideals it represents, please visit brennanrehabfoundation.org where nominations for the 2024 Socrates Awards are now open.

2023 Socrates Award Grants Announced

Award Recognizes the Accomplishments of Paralyzed Individuals With Lifetime Grant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Christopher Brennan
Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation
847-372-7429
cjb1133@gmail.com

CHICAGO – December 5, 2023 – The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation today announced the recipients of the 2023 Socrates Award, which provides a lifetime cash grant to individuals with paralysis caused by illness or injury that results in the partial or total loss of the use of one’s limbs with economic resources for therapy, equipment, prescriptions, and in-home care.

“These four individuals recognize that the daily pursuit of ‘a healthy mind’ and ‘a healthy body’ in the face of adversity is the true testament of one’s character,” said Chris Brennan, Chairman of The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation.

• Marine Cpl Kelsee Leinhart (Dearborn, IN): Marine Cpl. Kelsee Lainhart was among the service members wounded in the Kabul Airport attacks on August 26, 2021. Cpl. Lainhart was working with the withdrawal of U.S. troops and refugees in the final days of the U.S. involvement in the war in Afghanistan when the attack that killed 13 service members happened. Lainhart was left paralyzed, and recovery has taken her from Walter Reed in Washington to rehabilitation in Chicago. She continues her journey of healing back in the Hoosier State. Despite everything she has been through, the decision to join the Marines is one Cpl. Lainhart said she doesn’t regret it. Once a Marine, always a Marine.

• Ivan Smith (San Diego, CA): Ivan Smith, an elite tennis player from Southern California, was in a terrible car accident on April 5, 2022, while attending college in San Antonio, Texas. Ivan endured significant surgery to rebuild his spine with 16 screws, and his spinal cord was severely damaged around T.H. 7-8. There are severe long-term problems ahead, but hopefully, with divine intervention and remarkable technological and scientific advances, Ivan will someday walk again.

• Clay Scherb (Winnetka, IL): On August 28, 2022, Clay Scherb, who was a senior in high school, suffered a horrific accident in which his C5 was shattered. After being rushed into surgery and spending two critical weeks in the ICU, Clay was transferred to Northwestern Hospital in Chicago for another week of enhanced care. The following 12 weeks were spent in intense rehabilitation, with a brief stint back to Northwestern Hospital for two weeks to help clear Clay’s lungs. Clay is paralyzed from the chest down and has difficulty with his core and sitting upright unassisted. Clay has worked tirelessly five days a week, six hours a day, for the past 15 months in physical therapy. He has slowly gained some functionality with his leg mobility and continues to work on developing hand dexterity. Clay’s will is indomitable, and he is determined to continue healing, gaining strength, and regaining mobility and self-sufficiency.  

• J.J. O’Connor (Chicago, IL): J.J. O’Connor sustained a C4 spinal cord injury at the age of 16 while playing hockey, forcing him to learn how to live his life as a quadriplegic. About a week after his accident, long-time hockey official Jim Smith visited him in the hospital. The men became friends, and Smith became a caregiver for O’Connor, a role that Smith still has. Over the past two decades, J.J. has significantly impacted the sport of sled hockey and made invaluable contributions to USA Hockey, held various leadership roles on the local and national levels, and is currently Director Emeritus of USA Hockey’s Disabled Section. The O’Connor Courage Trophy, named after J.J., is awarded yearly to the Tier I champion at the USA Hockey Sled Classic.  

The Socrates Award honors the Socratic creed’s ideal of mens sana in corpore sano: “a healthy mind in a healthy body.” Christopher Brennan, chairman of the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation, created the Socrates Award during his tenure in sports media. In 2000, Brennan worked with his late father, Terry Brennan, former head football coach at the University of Notre Dame, to set up this award, which originally recognized collegiate athletes who achieved a combination of athletic and academic success.

Following Brennan’s spinal cord injury that resulted in tetraplegia—partial-to-total loss of all four limbs and torso—the award shifted to its current form.

“After experiencing a spinal cord injury, the Socrates creed took on a profound meaning for me,” says Brennan. “I am honored to award these individuals who recognize that life, like sports, is full of incredible highs and frustrating lows—and that the daily pursuit of ‘a healthy mind’ and ‘a healthy body’ in the face of adversity is a true testament of one’s character.”

About

The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation The Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation is a 501c3 charitable foundation located in Lake Forest, Illinois. The Foundation is committed to helping individuals, who have suffered cervical spinal injuries causing physical and cognitive disabilities, and their families and communities, by providing financial resources to help ensure a continuum of rehabilitation resources and provide opportunities for individuals to ultimately reach optimal health and independence. Please visit www.brennanrehabfoundation.org to learn more about donation opportunities and future fundraising events.

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2023 Casino Night Thank you!

On Saturday, November 4th, the Brennan Rehabilitation Foundation held a successful Casino Night raising money for the Double Down on Disabilities Fund.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the event!