An operation left Vorsts legs limp; an accident paved way for recovery

But her gift also means that more than a decade after reinventing her life,she has to reinvent it again. At the London Paralympic Games,she had hoped to win gold in both handcycling and wheelchair racing. Now that she can walk,shes ineligible. Competing was such a passion, she said. Its difficult because I need to find a new purpose in life.

Van der Vorst was a 13-year-old field hockey standout but kept on twisting her ankle. She said an operation to correct the problem went wrong and afterward,my leg swelled up,went purple and cold,filled with liquid that stayed there. She said she couldnt move her leg,even after the liquid subsided. She said doctors still arent fully sure what caused the leg to go limp. The following year,she lost most movement in her right leg,too.

The handcycle,a three-wheeler powered by the arms,helped her rediscover the joy of competition. Van der Vorst competed in her first handcycle race in 2000,at age 15. It gave me self-esteem. I learned how to think in possibilities,not limitations, she said. Van der Vorst can still feel the thrill of the 2008 Paralympic Games,when she missed gold in the 40-km handcycling road race by just 0.13 seconds. She medaled in a neck brace. Months earlier while training on her handcycle in Florida,she was hit by a car and suffered spinal cord damage. I dont know how I did it,but I had focus and a goal, she said.

Van der Vorst thinks another accident in March played a role in her recovery. On the Spanish resort island of Mallorca,a cyclist rammed into her from behind as she raced down a road on her handcycle. The impact sent her crashing to the ground. Her legs seized up with spasms. Her first thought was about how the injury would affect her competition schedule. She resumed training but soon back pains were making her workouts agonising. She was hospitalised,then went into a long rehab.

In June,she said,she started to feel a tingling sensation in her left foot. Her legs were still thin from years of inaction,but before long she could feel them. At first she only told her doctor. Standing up was the next step. She used her powerful arms to hoist herself between tables and dangled her feet to the ground,gradually increasing the pressure,forcing herself to build strength and balance. Every time,I crashed to the ground and fortunately,I didnt feel any pain yet. I tried it hundreds of times, she said. She progressed to walking,she said,a few steps at a time.