July 4, 2001, started out like any other holiday for the Dobler family of Leawood.

They had friends over, and Joy Dobler''s husband, Conrad, was grilling dinner. But at 7 p.m. that night, all of their lives changed.

Joy Dobler was climbing into a hammock in the family''s back yard when she fell, landing on her head. She heard and felt the snap and knew instinctively her neck was broken. She couldn''t move her legs. Later she would learn she was a quadriplegic.

July 4, 2001, was the day Dobler lost her independence.

"You don''t realize what you have until you''ve lost it," Dobler said. "There''s nothing I can think of that could be harder to deal with then not being able to get up and walk around."

The days and months that followed were filled with surgery, infection and questions.

Immediately following the accident, Dobler was taken to St. Joseph Health Center. After numerous X-rays and CAT scans, the doctor came out to tell her husband, a former NFL player, that Dobler had broken her neck and that she had a less than 1 percent chance of walking again. Dobler, once a six-foot tall, highly active woman, would need to face an indefinite period of time in a wheelchair.

Dobler eventually moved to the University of Kansas Medical Center, where she had surgery. The next few days after her surgery were tough. She developed a severe infection after her esophagus was attached to her spine during surgery, which created a tear. The infection caused her face and neck to swell after everything she''d been eating and drinking began to drain into her circulatory and respiratory systems. Dobler began to get increasingly ill.

"I really thought I was going to die," she said.

During this time, her husband spoke with Christopher Reeve, the actor who also faced a debilitating spinal cord injury. He recommended Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

Dobler was flown to St. Louis, where her recovery from her infection was slow. She had another surgery to correct some of her esophageal problems, and for the next month she lay flat on her back unable to move while her neck and throat healed.

Going home
After intensive rehabilitation and 10 months of being in the hospital, Dobler returned home on Mother''s Day 2002.

"It was a tough transition," she said. "In rehab, it was kind of like a fraternity. Everyone was in a wheelchair. I didn''t truly realize the limitations it placed on you until I returned." Dobler started going to outpatient rehabilitation, but soon became discouraged with the approach. They were working to get her functional, but that''s the last thing she wanted. She wanted to aim toward walking again. She wanted to get out of her wheelchair.

She began to research rehabilitation centers. She found one in San Diego she believed would be the best place for her. In August 2002, Dobler left for San Diego.

It was hard for Dobler to be away from her blended family of six children and her husband. It was hard to speak with her family only on the phone. But those phone calls brought her strength. Her son Stephen, then barely a teen, was especially supportive.

"He was truly an inspiration," Dobler said. "When times were tough, he was the one who motivated me. He kept saying, ''No pain, no gain."

This past March, Dobler was able to return to her family for good. Dobler, who had once been a registered nurse and who opened a temporary nursing staffing agency with her husband in 1993, was home and able to see her children every day. That meant the world to her. No matter what, she wanted to be there as her children grew. She wanted to take photos before school dances and attend her kids'' sporting events.

"It''s the small things that are the most important today," she said. "We took a lot of things for granted, and now we''ve learned to put a lot of things into perspective."

At 47, Dobler works out as much as she can. Three times a week she works with a trainer to strengthen her muscles. While she is still unable to use her legs, Dobler does have feeling in her legs and feet and can wiggle her toes. She is also able to use her arms.

She is back to being active with her family. And this past year, she was able to get back to the one thing she missed the most: being a coach for her son''s basketball team.

A coach again
Prior to the accident, Dobler had coached her children''s basketball teams at St. Thomas More in Kansas City. This year she returned, coaching the eighth grade team to an undefeated season and a city championship.

But more than just being with her family, Dobler is committed to helping others in her situation. She has been working with spinal cord research fund-raising events, helping to bring in thousands of dollars. She is frequently on the phone and visiting other spinal cord injury patients, working to bring them a sense of hope.

Hope helped her get through her own injury, and she wants to pass along that inspiration.

Nona Van Cleve, Dobler''s mother, can''t help but look at her daughter and be proud.

Despite some of the worst circumstances imaginable, her daughter pulled herself up and kept going.

She is an inspiration to the entire family, Van Cleve said.

"To see what she goes through every morning just to get herself up and ready to face the day, you can''t help but be proud," Van Cleve said. "It''s been tremendous watching her. Because of her children and her will to live, she will get through this."

Dobler is continuing to work on fund raising for spinal cord research.

She is committed to finding a cure so that others like her can one day walk again. And she believes that she too will be able to experience the joy of walking across the room.

For Dobler, it just takes a bit of determination and hard work and a lot of love from her family.

"God has a plan for everyone," Dobler said. "Perhaps he wanted me to take a different route in life."