Great Bend - Jenna Daily’s road to recovery can be measured in words spoken, movements regained and obstacles overcome. But perhaps its greatest measure is perseverance – the kind that has carried her from a devastating aneurysm at 33 weeks pregnant to being named one of Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals’ 2026 GOAL Award winners.

“We didn’t know what to expect when we went to Madonna; we just knew it was a great place and she had a long way to go,” her husband, Cayden, said. We never in a million years thought we would be the ones they would choose [for this award], but we are very proud of being those people. We’re very honored to be recognized by such a fantastic place.

In March of 2025, Jenna and Cayden were setting up the nursery for the arrival of their son in just a few weeks. That night, she awoke with a terrible headache.

“I could tell something was off. She went to the bathroom and by the time I got there, she was nonverbal,” Cayden said. “She was breathing strangely and becoming unresponsive.”

Jenna was life watched to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita before being transferred to the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City. The clipping of the aneurysm caused a stroke and led to the deficits Jenna faces today.

“They had to clip it to stop the bleeding, but it cut off the blood supply in the area of the brain that controlled right-sided movements and language,” Cayden said.

As a result, Jenna is fighting to overcome both aphasia and apraxia that can affect a person’s reading ability, writing, verbal expression, as well as comprehension.

“Jenna had components of all of those areas, as well as a motor speech disorder where the brain takes the word you want to say and jumbles up the sequence of the sounds,” Amy Potter, speech-language pathologist who worked with Jenna at Madonna, said. “Jenna was severe enough that she had no verbal attempts at all. She had no voice. She wasn’t able to get the voice even started.”

Her son, Rai, was born via emergency caesarean section in the neurosurgery room before his mom was taken into brain surgery. He spent 17 days in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“He did fine but they had to tube feed him for a while and train him on using a bottle,” Cayden said. “It took him a while to pass his car seat test.”

Rai was released from the NICU the day before Jenna was transferred to Madonna Rehabilitation Hospitals.

“Initially we were just going to stay in Kansas City for her rehab. We knew Madonna was super specialized and very well renowned but didn’t really think it was possible for us,” Cayden said. “I’d heard some amazing stories about them so that’s where we ended up and thank goodness we did.”

A representative from Madonna met with them in Kansas City.

“They were very upfront with us that it was going to be a long, long recovery,” Cayden said. “We had heard anywhere from a year to 18 months, for sure, and then still additional recovery after that.”

Rai was incorporated into Jenna’s rehabilitation at Madonna where she learned techniques for mothering with one hand and how to change his diapers and feed him. After her time at Madonna, Jenna went to Quality Living, Inc. (QLI) in Omaha. She stayed in the independent living facility for three months.

“That was a really tough transition for us,” Cayden said. “We were not mentally prepared for it so the first three or four weeks was one of the more challenging things we’ve been through.”

At QLI, residents stay alone in dorm-like rooms and are tasked with getting to therapy on their own.

“It was hard for a good reason, but it was very, very difficult,” Cayden said. “At Madonna, they would push her in a wheelchair to where she wanted to go. At QLI, you have to get there yourself. You go from staying in a hospital bed in a hospital room at Madonna to almost like a college dorm room of sorts to try and get ready for more independent living.”

Jenna continues speech therapy, as well as physical and occupational therapy locally. In addition, she attended neuro-animation therapy in Ohio from June 21 to July 10. The non-traditional therapy uses motion capture and virtual environments to stimulate hippocampal growth. Jenna plans on attending the three-week program again in February or March.

“Some days are really hard while others aren’t as bad; but you just have to keep going,” Cayden said. “She loves that little boy more than anything in the world.”

Cayden and Jenna credit their families with helping with her progress.

“Our families have helped us so much,” Cayden said. “Jenna’s mom, Clarissa, dropped everything to help us. We couldn’t have done it without her.”

Jenna’s mom continues to live with the family.

“A lot of things you take for granted like coming home and talking to your spouse can change in the blink of an eye” Cayden said. “What you think your life will look like can be gone pretty quick. “