Emerging from an ambulance Wednesday , six-time Olympic gold medalist Amy Van Dyken-Rouen smiled and even cracked jokes . As she addressed the media at a press conference , the champion swimmer and radio sports talk show host described her recent experiences and attitude with words like `` awesome , '' `` thankful '' and `` amazing . '' Why ? Because she almost was n't here at all . Less than two weeks ago , Van Dyken-Rouen 's spinal cord was severed in an ATV accident in Arizona . Her injuries were so severe that she and her husband , former NFL punter Tom Rouen , were told to say their last goodbyes as she was rushed into emergency surgery . Van Dyken-Rouen has no memory of the June 6 accident . She remembers only riding the ATV to dinner in the eastern Arizona town of Show Low , then waking up to doctors and bright lights . Her husband found her face-down in water , not breathing . Now , the 41-year-old says with conviction , `` Every day you take a breath is a blessing . '' Fighting back tears , she admitted it is n't easy . `` I have my bad days . '' She 's paralyzed from the waist down and copes with daily pain and grueling physical therapy -- but she 's not complaining . `` You can get through anything as long as you have a positive attitude , '' she said . Her fans and friends keep up with her on Twitter ( @ amyvandyken ) to hear about her journey -- the good days and the bad . She says it 's been the `` thoughts , prayers and positive vibes '' that have kept her going . What 's next for Van Dyken-Rouen ? She says she 's excited to start her new life -- a `` rebirth , '' as she calls it . She is headed next to Colorado , where both her and her husband 's families live , to continue her physical therapy . She said the rigorous training she has undergone as an elite athlete has helped with the healing process . She said she intends to `` get the coolest wheelchair , rock it out and make my hair to match . '' Van Dyken-Rouen said her dad , who suffers from a form of leukemia , also has a wheelchair , so she already has a racing partner in mind . Van Dyken-Rouen won four gold medals in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta : in the 50-meter freestyle , the 100 butterfly and the 4x100 freestyle and medley relays . In the 2000 Olympics in Sydney , she was on the winning 4x100 medley and freestyle relay teams again . She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 2008 .
Olympian Amy Van Dyken - Rouen was left paralyzed after a June 6 car accident . Gold medalist swimmer calls new life a ` ` ' , '' but ` ` I have my bad days , '' she admits . Thoughts , dreams and ` ` positive vibes '' have kept her going , she says . She is staying next to home to continue her physical therapy .