The hospital has one of the country’s few comprehensive inpatient programs for children with chronic pain

It’s been one step at a time for Farah Willenbrock, 17, of Champaign, Illinois. Last summer, the once avid ballet dancer could barely walk. A debilitating illness caused constant stomach pain and nausea.

“It was a little bit scary,” Farah said. “I didn’t really know what was wrong with me.”

Scott Willenbrock, Farah’s dad, said that sometimes the pain went from bad to intolerable. “There were times where she was just lying in bed, weeping in pain for hours,” he said. “That’s very hard to watch.”