A person's life changes in an instant with spinal cord injury. A central Ohio resident is fighting to overcome that injury-related change and regain her life.

Rosemarie Rossetti, Ph.D., was bicycling with her husband on June 13, 1998, their first outing of the year. Suddenly, the serenity of the day ended. There was a loud bang and an 80-foot tree fell, pinning her beneath a foot-wide branch.

A medical-transport helicopter airlifted her to Grant Medical Center. Among her many injuries, her spinal cord was seriously damaged, but not severed. She endured over four hours of surgery and five days in intensive care, then five weeks of rehabilitation at Dodd Hall. "My legs were not working" when discharged, Dr. Rossetti said.

She enjoyed many sports with her husband prior to the injury. Now it seemed that part of her life was gone forever. In August, however, Dr. Rossetti=s physical therapist assured her that she would again be active in sports. Wearing a neck brace and full body brace at the time, she had doubts.

Dr. Rossetti gradually realized it might be possible to have a physically active lifestyle once more. She returned to the health club in fall 1998 to improve her upper-body strength in preparation for skiing again. (A mono-ski allows skiers to glide down the slopes in a seated position.)

She received medical clearance to ski about 18 months after the injury. The first lesson was frustrating. "And I'd think, 'What am I doing on this ski hill. What did I expect to do?' I was second guessing, thinking I can't do this. This is scary. This hurts my arms. I'm going to fall. I can't get up. And I'd see all these people whizzing by me, especially the children. And then I'd see my husband and I'd say, 'Now I remember why I'm here. I want my life back,'" she said. "So it all starts with motivation."

Things looked different by the end of that lesson. "This sport was totally possible," she concluded. Avid skiers before, skiing has returned as the couple's winter activity.

Cycling was next. She had tried a hand cycle one year earlier, but quickly knew this was not going to work. The search was on for an alternative.

During the course of outpatient therapy, Dr. Rossetti regained the use of her quadriceps (the muscles at the front of the thigh), so she decided to try a recumbent cycle. It was just a matter of leg strength. Using adaptive pedals to keep her feet in place, she took a test drive. The cycle started to move. "I was smiling from ear to ear," she said. "I shouted, 'I can do it! I can do it! I've got the leg strength!'"

Finding the correct cycle, however, was difficult. She traveled to Colorado, then Illinois before finding one that was right. Cycling with her husband has again become their weekend recreation.

Dancing has been the latest activity to be recaptured. Prior to the injury, she and her husband were taking lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio. "I never thought I would go back to dancing again," Dr. Rossetti said.

Then she saw an advertisement for a video on wheelchair dancing and ordered a copy. While viewing the video, the couple knew this was something they wanted to try.

They attempted dancing at home, but furniture kept getting in the way. So they called the dance studio last April and resumed lessons after a four-year hiatus. They have been dancing once a week since then.

She also has tried golf, ice hockey, kayaking, tennis, racquetball, horseback riding, and snowmobiling since the injury.

"I feel healthier," she said of her involvement in sports. "I feel that I'm doing something for my recovery on an on-going basis."

There has been another benefit. She found skiing, cycling, and dancing with her husband have put "fun back in our lives again."

Dr. Rossetti encourages everyone with a disability to become more active. "Many times we have a preconceived idea of our limitations. We have been deceiving ourselves. The limit is further than we ever thought. And the impossible is just likely to be possible," said she. "There is a lot we can do that we just haven't even tried, even the simplest of activities based on our abilities. At least we've done something."

And no one should give up if unsuccessful on the initial attempt at a sport. Other equipment may be necessary. "There might be another adaptation somewhere out there. Keep searching," she said.