Disability:

On her 21st birthday, Donna Marini was in a car accident which left her with two broken vertebrae in her neck, and in a wheelchair.

Ability:

Donna spent the first year on an emotional rollercoaster… both happy to be alive and worried about being a burden on her family.

A year later, Donna moved into a transitional living center, and slowly began learning to care for herself and regain her independence.  Several months later she was ready to move on.  She bought a home and a customized minivan, and returned to modeling and acting.

Donna also began giving back to the facility and people who helped her, and is now an activist and advocate for victims of spinal cord injury, working through her foundation.