Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
No two people heal the same way. As an OT, I want to help every patient value themselves as a person and maintain their optimal life post-burn.
By Micah Mertes
Cassidy Schilling, OTD’25, works with burn survivors of all ages and at all levels of severity. Many are experiencing the evolving pain and complications that come with the aging of scarred skin. Some are missing hands or feet.
Each patient needs unique, individualized care, but all come with common questions: What now? Where does my life go from here? How do I go back to school or work? What are the next steps?
For burn survivors, Schilling said, the occupational therapist's job is to help rehabilitate the patient not only physically but also mentally and emotionally, to help them navigate their recovery and, to the best of their ability, attain independence.
Schilling — a recent alumna of Creighton’s Phoenix campus who remained in the city to work as a burn OT at Valleywise Health — brings the Jesuit value of cura personalis, care for the whole person, to every new patient encounter.
“No two people heal the same way,” she said. “As an OT, I want to help every patient value themselves as a person and maintain their optimal life post-burn.”
Schilling wanted to reach more survivors than her patients alone. So, as part of her Creighton doctoral capstone, she created a burn rehabilitation guide and children’s book for pediatric burn survivors.
With the help of three fellow OTs, Schilling wrote Healing Beyond the Hospital: A Guide to Burn Rehabilitation. The book is intended to help both survivors and their families understand what the recovery process looks like, offering guidance on exercises, scar care, pain relief, emotional support, coping strategies and other resources. The guide, while backed by research and heavily cited, has a personal, approachable tone, with Schilling delivering the same message of empowerment she gives her patients.
“Burn scars might change how you look,” Schilling writes, “but they do not define who you are. It may take time to feel good about yourself again, but remember that your strength, kindness and character are what truly matter.”
Schilling is also in the process of self-publishing a children’s book for pediatric burn survivors (and their friends and family), called MooMoo's Firefighter Adventure. Based on her beloved dog, MooMoo, the book follows the recovery from burns of a firefighter’s puppy (and his acceptance by his littermates).
For burn survivors, one of the central pillars of recovery is finding the right community — one that cares for you unconditionally and supports you wholeheartedly. But, of course, Schilling said, that’s essential for everyone.
Schilling found such a community at Creighton, she said. “I loved my Creighton experience for a lot of reasons — my professors and friends and clinical experiences. But another huge factor was the way Creighton worked to meet my specific needs.”
Schilling has dyslexia and an auditory processing disorder, which made in-person lectures nearly impossible for her to follow. The School of Pharmacy and Health Professions’ OTD hybrid pathway proved the perfect fit, blending on-campus and online instruction.
Schilling also has severe anxiety, which exacerbated the stressors of graduate school. Her Creighton mentor, Susan Speliopoulos Weems, MS — assistant dean for student affairs and operations at the Phoenix campus — helped her navigate every struggle. Schilling’s professor, Gianluca Del Rossi, PhD, helped her gain the confidence she needed to complete her degree.
Schilling came to Creighton’s OT program from the University of Washington, where she played Division 1 beach volleyball. The mother of a teammate introduced Schilling to the OT profession. Good word of mouth, a few encounters with Creighton alumni and guidance from her academic counselor, Matt Bannerman, brought her to Creighton’s program.
Beyond her excellent academic experience, Schilling said she’s grateful to Creighton for the diversity of real-world opportunities it’s led to: helping patients regain function in their hands at the Phoenix-area Desert Hand Outpatient Therapy; providing OT at the Shriners Hospital’s pediatric burn unit; and conducting her Creighton capstone project through Ohio State University and the Valleywise Burn Center.
Though Schilling isn’t too far from her deeply supportive parents, family and friends in Southern California, she now has a “second family” in Phoenix, thanks to a Creighton connection.
A few years ago, a fellow Creighton OT alumna introduced Schilling to her husband’s family in Phoenix, who needed a caregiver for their 86-year-old grandmother after she survived a stroke. Today, Schilling continues to care for the woman and coordinate her care team. She’s become extremely close with the family, visiting constantly and joining them for holidays.
“I truly treasure my relationship with them,” Schilling said. “We never would have found each other were it not for Creighton.”
