Tough as they come

Is it any surprise to anyone that Amy Van Dyken-Rouen has an upbeat attitude about her new life as a paraplegic?



Nicki Jhabvala reports in the Denver Post that

Amy Van Dyken-Rouen wants to "rock out" her wheelchair. She wants it to have skulls and crossbones, and she wants it to be purple, with her hair to match. Then she wants to wheelchair race her father.

She's "excited" about this new phase in her life. It's a rebirth.

She will pose for photos from her hospital bed with a big smile and a thumbs-up.

She will joke on Twitter about missing her Keurig coffee but is looking forward to having good parking at Arizona Diamondbacks games in Phoenix.

She will have surgeries and spend days in the intensive care unit, and come out sounding as though life couldn't be grander.

The six-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer, who suffered a severed spinal cord in an all-terrain vehicle accident in Show Low, Ariz., on June 6 and is paralyzed from the waist down, has amazed her fans and followers with her upbeat attitude.

But those who know her aren't surprised.

Please read here what those who know her have to say about her attitude.