Cindy Hall Ranii

A retired superintendent of schools and grandmother of 12, Cindy Hall Ranii entered the wheelchair world 10 years ago when an acute onset of transverse myelitis paralyzed her at the T3 level. A lifelong athlete, she discovered wheelchair table tennis four years ago and has competed throughout Europe and the Americas, including the Parapan Am Games in Toronto. She lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., with her partner, Shelly James, and has written a memoir, Parakeet Races and Other Stories, available on Amazon.com, which humorously chronicles an often intensely competitive family of six kids raised by a single dad.