Olympic swimmer Amy Van Dyken is making the most of her second chance at life after her ATV accident left her paralyzed.
"I see life differently now," she wrote in an essay on Today. "I know it is more precious and fragile. What would my husband and dog do without me? What would I do without them? These are things I think about now which never even would have entered my realm of possibility before. Now, every day that I can hug them or my nieces and nephews is a special day. It is a day I shouldn't have."
"I'm on borrowed time, and I know this for sure now. I wasn't supposed to be here for this day, so I make it the best day I can. I have no time or room for an entire day to be a 'bad day.' I will have bad moments, but to waste an entire day on it isn't worth it. How would I have felt if my day before my accident was a 'bad day' and I didn't pull through? How would that leave my friends and family? It's not worth it. Have a bad moment, and move on."
The Olympic swimmer is starting a founder, called the Amy Van Dyken Foundation, to support others who are also suffering from a spinal cord injury (SCI). The equipment needed to help someone who is suffering from SCI shower and use the restroom is often not entirely covered by insurance, Dyken explained in her essay. The foundation will help get those people the necessary equipment to live a comfortable life with SCI.
Although the loss of movement in Dyken's legs will prevent her from continuing her career as an Olympic swimmer, she is not planning on entirely putting an end her career.
"I would still like to continue my career, but it has changed quite a bit," she wrote. "I used to do sports talk (yep, still would love to do that), and now, I would also like to use my gift of gab to let people know that we can do anything we put our minds to. Let them know that every day is a gift, and to make it an amazing day."
