Wheelchair basketball: One woman's story

The diagnosis
I even started playing some wheelchair basketball to give my knees a rest. Yet it was becoming increasingly obvious that something was wrong. One day after a wheelchair basketball game in college, an occupational therapist in the stands approached me and asked what my disability was. I told her that I just had bad knees. She seemed surprised and asked if I had ever seen a neurologist. I hadn't, so I made an appointment with a specialist right away.

It took the neurologist no time at all to diagnose me with muscular dystrophy (MD), a neuromuscular disease that causes muscles in the body to become very weak and eventually to break down. After years of trying to figure out what was going on in my body, it finally had a name.

But it meant the end of stand-up basketball for me. When I was told I would no longer be able to play, I was devastated. It was the end of an era, and I was only 25.

Rediscovering a first love
A new era soon began, though. With my diagnosis I was invited to try out for the national wheelchair basketball team. It was my second chance. Wheelchair basketball has essentially the same rules as the original game; the difference is the way athletes move, which has generated changes in strategy, physicality and skills. The game is fast paced and very physical. First-time spectators are left wide-eyed at the sight of athletes falling out of their chairs and getting back up. It takes a tremendous amount of upper-body strength and strategy, and an even greater level of teamwork and creativity.

While wheelchair basketball follows the rules of basketball, it also has some of the positioning of rugby, many of the strategies of hockey and the mobility dynamics of polo (instead of being on a horse, you're riding your wheelchair.)

Strength and determination
With intense training and determination, I made the Canadian national wheelchair basketball team. And then came the 2004 Paralympics in Athens. Being on a team representing Canada at the Paralympics was one of the most rewarding and exhilarating experiences of my career so far. I'll never forget the feeling of pride and joy as our team wheeled into the stadium for the opening ceremonies. There was nothing anyone could have said to prepare me for that moment, sharing the spotlight with people from so many different countries, with such varied life experiences and with so many types of disabilities. It was truly thrilling. The only disappointment was that, despite our high hopes of bringing home gold, we came away with the bronze medal.

Three years later I began playing in a men's league, and I was the first woman to play on the American men's all-star team. Last year I was named most valuable player after our national women's team won gold at the world championships in Amsterdam. I was the leading scorer and rebounder, but I can't take all the credit; my success was due in large part to my teammates. In a sport like basketball, everyone contributes to the game's outcome.

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