LUDLOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) -- A local nurse is now caring for patients at the same rehabilitation center that helped save her life.

Paula Yelinek started her tenure as a registered nurse at Encompass Health in February. The inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Ludlow is where Yelinek spent months recovering four years ago.

In 2022, Yelinek was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness. “I woke up one day and I couldn’t move my legs and then, from there, it kind of progressed upwards,” she said.

For a time, Yelinek was paralyzed from the chest down. During her recovery, she spent months in rehab, including at Encompass Health in her hometown. “They did more than just give me my meds and made sure I got to therapy. There were nights where, because I had some inflammation in my brain, I was really confused and I had nurses and techs that would sit with me kind of take the place of my mom holding my hand and just reassuring me that things were going to be okay,” she explained.

Four years later, Yelinek is back on her feet and holding patients’ hands. She works alongside the therapists who once helped her walk again. “Now, I work with the therapists that were working with me when I could barely move my body. So, we have that connection already,” she noted.

During National Nurses Week, Yelinek is focused on patients facing Guillain-Barré, offering them hope from someone who has been there. “You don’t know what each day is going to bring, but all you can do really is take it day by day and, you know, the little things mean a lot more than you realize, so just like kind of persisting and keep going with the therapy. Keep listening to your nurses (and) your doctors. They’re trying to work with you and it will get better. I promise,” she said.

Yelinek plans to continue giving back at Encompass Health for the foreseeable future.

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