Amazing, that is, to everyone but April.

A seasoned track athlete who earned a four-year college scholarship on the merits of her speed and was named to both CIAA All-Conference and NCAA All-American teams, April competed in cross-country as well as indoor and outdoor track events throughout her school years. Her abilities and hard work helped her score numerous awards in the 400m, 800m, 4x 400m, and long jump as part of the Norfolk State University track squad.

“During my senior year at the conference championships, I ran and placed in every running event except the 100m,” she noted simply.

After graduating from Norfolk in 1996, April continued her athletic regimen by playing pickup basketball games in a recreational league while working full time for Verizon Wireless as a switching equipment technician. She’d also started working on her masters degree in business education at Drexel University when an accident involving a train put an abrupt halt to her life on January 22, 2001.

“When I woke up in the recovery room, I found out my leg had been amputated below my knee. I was dealing with the possibility of never running or playing basketball again,” she continued.

Within days, the physician who’d performed her surgery brought her copies of disability magazines fromWeMedia and the Amputee Coalition of America. At her

prosthetist’s office, she discovered CHALLENGE Magazine in the waiting room. Both professionals encouraged her to get involved in disability sports as soon as possible.

“I am so grateful that I had knowledgeable medical experts who were aware of disability sports,” April stressed. “I’ve met so many people with disabilities who never received this information. Since then I’ve encouraged others and taken a lot of this information back to my amputee support group!”

At her initial entry in disabled sports at DS/USA’s 2002 International Challenge Track Meet in Orlando, Florida, April astounded fans and Paralympic officials alike. She’s literally been off and running ever since, qualifying for the U.S. team at the 2002 IPC World Championships in France where she took silver in the 100m and 4th in the 200m. She’s currently ranked second in the world in her T-44 class in the 100m, and third in the 200m among T-44 women athletes.

“One of my personal hopes for the next Paralympics is for us to have a women’s relay team,” April related. “We need four athletes, and right now we only have three – Kelly Bruno, Shea Cowart, and myself.”

In the meantime, April balances a full schedule of work, training, studying for her MBA online through the University of Phoenix, and looking ahead to disability meets in late spring in Maryland and California. A native of New Jersey and resident of Somerdale, she’s single and enjoys activities with her parents, sisters, and their children. A left below knee amputee, she wears an Otto Bock C-Sprint with an ALPS Easyliner for competition, and an Ossur Vari-Flex foot for walking. Her prosthetist is Robert Austin, CP, of Hanger in Edison, N.J.