Jessica Kruger's beauty is distracting as the 20-year-old with wavy blond locks and a hot pink pout opens the door of her Maillardville home on Sunday morning.
The B.C. wheelchair rugby athlete is squashing stereotypes with every move she makes because, like anyone her age, her future is just beginning.
But has taken some time and effort to get where she is.
Six years ago this month, with two months of summer vacation ahead of her, the then-Maillardville middle school student, who was 15 years old at the time, was earning spending money by painting houses.
While standing on the second storey of a house, Kruger suddenly blacked out and fell 20 feet to the ground below. She awoke to the sounds of panicked screams and the sirens of the ambulance coming to take her to the hospital as the June sun warmed her face.
Kruger spent five months recovering from her accident at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre in Vancouver. Afterwards, she was an outpatient for another five months, during which time she was introduced to wheelchair sports.
The one-time basketball and softball athlete couldn't fathom playing competitive sports again. And because of the nature of her injury - Kruger broke her neck in four places and damaged her spine in three spots - she knew that playing basketball was out of the question.
In the end, it was wheelchair rugby that resonated with Kruger.
"Honestly, it's just an incredible community of people," she says. "And I like the contact aspect of it."
Kruger explains how wheelchair rugby - which also goes by the moniker "murderball" - is played on a regulation basketball court. Players score points by wheeling with the ball past cones in the end zone. One of the obstacles in the sport is having to dribble the ball every 10 seconds.
Kruger is currently the only female and youngest player on the coed, provincial wheelchair rugby team. She plays on the development team, which placed fourth during the national championships in May.
The sport has afforded Kruger the ability to travel, something else she thought she could never do again. A year after the accident, Kruger and her sister Leah went on an African safari.
"It was pretty incredible," says Kruger of that adventure. "I was excited to see anything was possible."
Rugby and vacations were a welcome distraction for Kruger in the years after that fateful day in 2007. The long-term challenges she would face didn't really hit home until year three of her recovery.
"I definitely went through a denial stage," recalls Kruger. "I really struggled. There were recurrent health issues that were super frustrating."
A SILVER LINING
All things considered, Kruger exudes a unique positivity.
"I think my accident has opened more doors than I ever had before," she says.
Today, Kruger is a speaker for WorkSafeBC, educating the public on workplace safety. She has also just started working with the Rick Hansen Foundation and admires and draws strength from the Man in Motion.
"I think Rick Hansen is a well-known role model - someone who turned a bad situation into something positive," she says.
A fourth-year Simon Fraser University English Literature major, she also has plans to become a teacher.
Another one of her life's passions is cake decorating. Friends and family call on Kruger to create ornate cakes for special occasions including weddings.
Her mom Mary proudly pulls out the photos showcasing her daughter's handiwork. She becomes misty eyed when talking about Jessica.
"I just think she has come so far," says Mary. "She could only move her arm a small amount, after the accident. She has worked so hard and has huge determination."
A NATURAL BEAUTY
Kruger couldn't believe a boy was interested in dating her after the accident.
"At that point, I didn't think anybody in high school was going to be able to see past the wheelchair," she says.
She met Raj, a Maillardville classmate, at a party and he asked for her number.
It was not a conventional courtship - there were doctors' appointments and then the ultimate test of their relationship: Kruger spent two weeks in the ICU with a collapsed lung. Raj, then 17 years old, never left her side.
"He's absolutely amazing," says Kruger of her boyfriend of four years.
Mom nods her head in agreement.
"At the end of the day, I know he means it when he says I'm beautiful," continues Kruger. "He's proved his worth to me."
The couple is planning a trip to Mexico this summer. But first, Kruger has another exciting project: She is vying to be the face of cosmetic company Lise Watier's Something Sweet perfume campaign, entering the contest after some gentle nudging from a friend.
"I think the goal is to change society's perception of what people with disabilities are capable of doing," says Kruger of her application. "So they are not shocked when they open a magazine and see a model with a disability."
Kruger purposely made sure you could see her signature pink wheelchair in the photo she submitted for the contest. The winner is determined through online voting from the public.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Kruger was in the lead out of 400 contestants, including one woman who has close to 9,000 Facebook friends and was once a contestant on a reality TV show.
"It's insane, I never expected people to be invested in those whole thing," says Kruger. "It's so stressful. I'm trying not to check the website 15 times a day."
Voting for the Lise Watier Something Sweet contest (somethingsweet.lisewatier.com/en) ends June 8.
