Watch Amy Van Dyken-Rouen's 'Dateline' feature
By Nick ZaccardiJan 8, 2015, 4:22 PM EST
Amy Van Dyken-Rouen was told by doctors she'll probably never walk again, but that's not stopping the six-time Olympic swimming champion from her goal to no longer be a paraplegic.
Van Dyken-Rouen suffered a severed spine in a June 6 ATV accident.
"I'm going through what would be considered hell, but I'm doing it with a smile, and it's not so bad," Van Dyken-Rouen, 41, said on a "Dateline" special, "Starting Over," last Sunday. "These are days that I wasn't supposed to have, and I am here. So I'm on borrowed time. I better make it awesome."