For Dana Meyer, 

When she was 12, Dana Meyer thought she was on her way to becoming a all-sports star. She was doing well in five different sports in elementary school. 

But, her life turned upside down during the summer before she started seventh grade.

She went to the hospital for an operation to correct a hereditary disease called scoliosis. That illness causes the spine to curve into an S-shape rather than grow straight.

During the operation, she suffered permanent damage to her spine. It left her paralyzed from the waist down. 

Dana said, “I kept thinking I was going to get better. But, then, I realized I was stuck. What depressed me the most was that I couldn’t participate in sports.”

But, it turned out Dana was wrong. 

She’s now 18 years old and a senior at Lutheran South High School. She has won national and international titles in the junior wheelchair divisions in both tennis and basketball.

She even earned a spot on the regular girls tennis team at Lutheran South. She was the No. 4 singles player and on the No. 2 doubles team. 

In high school matches, she got only one rules concession. The ball remained in play for her even after a second bounce. Able-bodied players get only one bounce.

Now she’s considering scholarship opportunities to compete in wheelchair sports programs. She’ll be making trips to schools in Alabama and Arizona. 

She even has a sports equipment endorsement deal. 

The makers of Quickie athletic wheelchairs sponsor her in meets. “I get wheelchairs for free. And, in two months I’ll be the first to try out a newly designed chair,” she said.

The new chair has an extra wheel in the back to provide more protection against tipping. 

Dana admits it took a year and a half after the failed operation before she could see a place for her in athletic competition. 

When her mother, Kathy, first suggested wheelchair competition, Dana said, “That’s not real sports.” 

But, she finally gave wheelchair basketball a try. She’s been expanding her athletic efforts ever since. 

Last year, she was one of two girls on the St. Louis Junior Rolling Rams basketball team. The team won the national wheelchair tournament championship in San Francisco. 

But, some of her biggest thrills have been in tennis. That’s one of the sports she didn’t play before her paralysis. 

In February, she was one of two Americans invited to take part in the first wheelchair competition at the famous Les Petits As (The Little Aces) junior tennis tournament at the little town of Tarbes in France.

That was after she had earned a No. 2 national juniors ranking in the wheelchair division from the United State Tennis Assn. The USTA nominated her for the Les Petits As meet. 

That tournament draws hundreds of “able-bodied” junior players from around the world. Last year, tournament officials added wheelchair teams. Dana and her partner, Michael Weise of California, came out on top. They won their last match in straight sets. 

Dana has been invited back for this year’s tournament. 

Also, last July, Dana was on the winning American team in the first-ever Junior Team Cup wheelchair competition in Paris. Teams from the U.S., Netherlands, Britain and Germany competed. 

Concerning her future, Dana is considering a career in either journalism or pharmacy. 

But, she said she wants to plan a career which leaves room for sports. “I want to do something that would allow me the freedom to continue to compete in sports,” she said.

She noted that opportunities in wheelchair athletics are getting bigger all the time. “There are athletes who earn a living in pro wheelchair sports,” she said.

That’s quite a change of heart for a girl who thought her chances in sports ended on the operating table when she was 12 years old.