It is 7:30 on a frigid, snowy, and gray January 2025, morning.
Ben Manning, one of life’s great dudes, is sporting an ear-to-ear grin as he opens the door to Rock Valley Physical Therapy’s Rochelle, Illinois-based clinic.
It is the final day of “Worker Hard” (return-to-work) therapy for the 47-year-old dedicated husband, father, and union-trained electrician at Northern Illinois University.
Thrice weekly, for five weeks – two hours each session – Manning was guided, challenged, jokingly-prodded and always-encouraged by Rock Valley’s Jonathan Staab, PT, DPT, BFR, TSAC-F, Clinic Manager, Rochelle, in preparation for the work-related rigors that awaited him.
Every moment of a welcome test for patient and therapist had reached the finish line. The following week – after two years away from the job – Manning would return to work.
“It has been a journey,’’ Manning said. “So many people have been behind me, including Jonathan. I would not be at this stage if not for him. I appreciate all he has done.’’
It would be a monumental understatement to say the previous 24 months were a long and winding road for Manning, a Philadelphia Eagles fan, who on this day made sure Staab, a Green Bay Packers fan, knew his Eagles were at Super Bowl 59’s doorstep.
“Ben has killed it,’’ Staab, a compassionate, knowledgeable, and gifted therapist, said of Manning’s rehabilitation work with Rock Valley. “It has been a pleasure to work with and get to know Ben. He has been diligent in his work here and outside the clinic. He likes a challenge, and I have looked forward to working with him. It’s a milestone, returning to work after what he has been through.’’
Twenty-four months ago, while working at Northern Illinois University, Manning was retrofitting older light fixtures to LED. That’s when reaching upward with both hands, he accidentally grabbed an exposed wire while fitting the15th and final light of the project and was electrocuted.
His life changed in an instant.
“No pun intended, but I was shocked it happened,’’ Manning, a Rochelle resident, said of the 270 volts that rushed through his body. “It was happening, and I couldn’t believe it. My life flashed before my eyes. I was violently shaking to free myself from the situation. I was really surprised at the dismount because I landed on my feet.’’
Taking personal assessment after being rushed to a local hospital, Manning knew – by pain alone – there was a significant issue with his left shoulder.
There would be more issues as well.
“I guess the pain in one shoulder was masking the fact I had serious issues with the other shoulder,’’ Manning said. “Both rotator cuffs were torn. I was grateful to be alive, so that was my approach to everything I had before me. Whatever the road ahead was, I was alive.’’
Over the next two years, Manning would undergo two surgeries. The first – on the left shoulder and then a year later, the right to repair each rotator cuff. It wasn’t until their paths crossed that Manning found the right outlet for his return-to-work rehabilitation.
“I was shadowing Dr. (Michele) Glasgow, Ben’s surgeon, and I happened to catch Ben on his final appointment with her,’’ said Staab. “Ben’s son is an outstanding football player, and I worked the sidelines at Rochelle High School football games. We got to know each other through that. It worked out perfectly, us seeing each other that day.’’
Manning and Staab are quick to sing each other’s praises, having spent – over a five-week period – two hours a day three times a week – together. A schedule rigorous to the casual onlooker, but exactly right according to the two. In addition to a variety of strength exercises, Staab had Manning simulate – using a bevy of job-related tools – all part of the rigors of life as union-trained electrician.
“We have clicked, hit it off,’’ Staab said, noting that Ben Manning’s son, Dylan Manning, will be doing speed and agility work with him starting this spring. In 2024, the Rochelle football team worked its way to the Illinois Class 5A state quarterfinals and Dylan Manning rushed for 1,267 yards for the season.
“I have come to enjoy the relationships that have been formed since we established a clinic in Rochelle,’’ Staab said of the clinic, which opened its doors in August of 2024. “One of those is with Ben. First, he has a great family, and Ben has willingly accepted every challenge before him. Power drills, wrenches, other tools, things he will have to use every day in his job, we have worked with him on using. It was important to make his life harder here and easier than it would be out there. Practice should be harder than the games and we have taken that approach. Ben is ready.’’