Then her niece, Trisha — wearing small bells on her shoes — persuaded Cindy to come and follow her around the track at Roy High School. Cindy got a treadmill, and, with determined, daily workouts, she began the slow, arduous process of retraining herself to run again.

She eventually completed her improbable comeback by doing a triathlon — complete with swimming and biking — in 2003 at Seattle. And, thanks to the help of her longtime running partner, Tracey Scadden, and more recently Sharon Crowton — who runs with her while being tethered to her — Cindy has participated in numerous road races over the past several years.

"I used to run a 5K in 22 minutes," Cindy said. "I don't worry about my time any more. Now, I just want to finish the race.

"I love running. My counselor said to try and do everything I used to do before my accident. For me, running works like therapy."

Cindy is an amazing example of how the indomitable human spirit can overcome and conquer even the most serious forms of adversity.

"She doesn't feel like she's anything neat or special," said her husband of four-plus years, Norm Stanley. "She speaks in public, in church or to young women's groups, but she doesn't really want or ask for any recognition.

"She just hopes to pay something back, trying to help people learn that you don't give up. That's the message here — no matter what happens to you, don't ever give up."

Cindy's upbeat, positive attitude, like her unyielding determination, is absolutely amazing.

"If I can be an inspiration to anybody, it would be wonderful," she said humbly.

Cindy, who resides in Roy, admits she was not very religious as a young person but began to grow closer to the Lord as she got older. She had just finished taking LDS Temple preparation classes a few months prior to her accident.

"That relationship with the Savior is so important and helped me get through this," she said. "I've said so many prayers, and I feel like he has blessed me so much and has given me so much strength to deal with all the trials in my life."

Her faith in the Lord isn't the only thing that buoys her up, however.

"Cindy's got some serious legs," Norm said with a laugh.

Yes, and an amazingly brave, courageous heart and spirit that, despite devastating obstacles, will never give up.

E-MAIL: rhollis@desnews.com