Remembering Miya

This story ran March 14,1992, when Miya Rodolfo-Sioson returned to Iowa City after three months of therapy in Chicago.

Sioson comes home to a new life

By Heather Sloman Woodin

Gazette Johnson County Bureau

Miya Sioson checked out of the

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago without fanfare Friday. She

said a few goodbyes then was moved into an ambulance for the ride

home. It was a different story last night, when she made her first

public appearance within hours of arriving at her new home in Iowa

City. Sioson, the only survivor of the Nov. 1 shootings at the

University of Iowa, was surrounded by the media, friends and

supporters when she arrived at a program to raise money for health

care programs in El Salvador. The event, at the Unitarian

Universalist Church, was sponsored by the Central American

Solidarity Committee. Sioson was involved in the committee before

the shooting, which left her with no movement in her legs and very

limited movement in her shoulders and biceps. Her physician, Dr.

Suzan Rayner, said Sioson's personality helped her do well

during her three-month stay in Chicago. "Miya's always

been very positive and always wanted to learn everything and know

everything about her disability and her equipment," Rayner

said. "I think Miya's always been an assertive woman. I

think that has helped her in that she's able to get her needs

met. Even though she has a spinal cord injury and is a

quadriplegic, she's totally independent in directing her care.

She knows what she needs." Before the shooting, Sioson worked

as a caregiver for a quadriplegic student. That gave her some

insight into the lifestyle of a quadriplegic, Rayner said.

"She definitely has taken full advantage of what

rehabilitation is all about. The whole goal behind rehabilitation

is for someone to become functionally independent and return to

their community. She's done that." Sioson will continue

to see area doctors and therapists, and she'll return to

Chicago for a checkup this summer. Sioson will be missed, Rayner

said, but "she's taking the next step that you take after

rehab. She's going back home."