Teri `Rene' Johnston : Determination Keeps Girl's Dreams on Track

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When 17-year-old Teri "Rene" Johnston was 9, she was struck by a teen-age drunken driver who ran a traffic light. The accident left Johnston paralyzed from the waist down.

"For nine months after I got out of the hospital, I thought all my dreams of being a high school athlete and cheerleader were gone," she said.

Johnston's high pluck level, combined with family support, enabled her to pursue her dream - on wheels. Two years after the accident, she joined the St. Louis Wheelchair Athletic Association, where she began to compete in basketball tournaments and track-and-field competitions. In the past five years, Johnston has competed in annual Junior National …