1,000 Butterflies and a New Way to See Brain Injury in Brewer, Maine

Rehab Without Walls Neuro Rehabilitation

Rehab Without Walls Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist Alysha Squires has been Working Smart and Doing Good in Brewer, ME. Recognized for the creativity and patient-centered leadership she brought to a brain injury awareness initiative, Alysha embodies BrightSpring’s LEGACY value of You, setting an example of clinical creativity and patient inclusion that her colleagues, patients, and visitors continue to rally around.

With roughly 10,000 new brain injuries occurring in Maine every year, Alysha and her recreational therapy team wanted to make that number something patients could actually see. She designed a project around the butterfly — a symbol of transformation and hope for brain injury survivors — with a goal of folding 1,000 origami butterflies, each one representing 10 individuals affected. Over two months of sustained, detailed work, the team surpassed 1,000.

“Watching a variety of people learn how to fold the origami, with cognitive difficulties or one-handed adaptations, was great to see. Everyone was willing to try at least once,” said Alysha.

What makes the project distinctly Alysha’s is how thoughtfully she built it for every patient to participate. She offered coloring pages alongside origami so anyone could engage at their own level. She adapted folding techniques for patients working one-handed and supported those navigating cognitive challenges. Each butterfly required precise folding, which gave patients a sustained fine-motor challenge alongside practice in sequencing, visual scanning, peer cooperation, organization, and memory — all within a project that gave them something to take pride in. Three years into her tenure, Alysha continues to bring this kind of creativity, organization, and meaning to her work, and her teammates describe the energy and adaptability she has brought to the program as a real gift to the team.

The wall is now a daily reminder, for staff and visitors, of the people behind the number — and it has become part of how the Brewer Outpatient Clinic shows the community what therapy can look like when it is built around the patient. Congratulations, Alysha. The example You set — imaginative, inclusive, and rooted in what each patient can do rather than what they cannot — turned an awareness goal into a shared act of healing for the people who needed it most.

Work Smart. Do Good