you gotta have fun with it, you know, and move on. [ applause ] >> meredith: please welcome amy van dyken-rouenr fabulous chair. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> meredith: hi, amy! [ applause ] >> meredith: okay. i love it. i matched the chair. the purple i love. >> perfect. almost like you got the memo. >> meredith: exactly. >> it does. it has skulls right here. has to be a little girlie. >> meredith: very very cool. people have used so many adjectives to describe you, including inspirational, brave, courageous. what words would you use to describe yourself? >> silly, crazy, fun loving. >> meredith: so you don't see any of this as courageous? >> i really don't, no. people ask me, why are you such an inspiration? i'm like, i don't know. i crashed my atv one night an everybody heard the story. people appreciate the fact that i love life. i guess when you almost lose your life a couple of times, you really learn to appreciate it. so, listen. things could be way worse than what's going on at your office desk right now. that's the way i look at it. >> meredith: absolutely. you were paralyzed from the w

six-time olympic gold medal winning swimmer amy van dyken-rouen.ad the privilege of meeting up with amy as she began therapy in colorado. at the time i said when you're able to fly, come to new york and visit us. ten short weeks later here she is along with her husband tom. we'll talk to them in a moment. but first a closer look at her remarkable story. >> there's no being lazy around here. >> reporter: amy van dyken-rouen loves a challenge. >> hit me. that wasn't so bad, actually. >> reporter: from taking on an ice bucket for als to catching a college football game in denver. to surprising us all by leaving the hospital early. and just a week later, walking in an experimental exoskeleton. amy worked hard for three months to get here. she spent eight hours a day in therapy. all along she has publicly shared her good days as well as the bad ones. >> this is not easy and i don't want to portray the fact that because i have a smile on my face that it's easy. it's really not. >> reporter: and in these moments the spirit of the champion with six gold me

. >>> coming up next, "george to the rescue" helps amy van dyken-rouen renovate her house after that road to recovery. first, this is "today" on nbc. >>> back now at 8:47 with home stories. on george to the rescue, is he looking at ways to take what you already have and use it differently and does these renovations for truly deserving people. nice to see you. >> good morning, matt, hoda. >> you did some work for a friend of matt's. >> friend of the show's, actually. >> amy van dyken-rouen. she is an inspiration. even more than that, she is a fantastic human being. proud to call her a friend. >> obviously she has needs now that she's in a wheelchair. what kind of things did you do? >> probably number one for her was carpets. we ripped out all the carpet in her house. we put down beautiful tile floors that look like wood and then in her closet, what they're showing right now, we made her closet racks come to her rather than having to go to the closet. >> incredible. >> we renovated the whole closet. she can pull it down, get what she needs, gives her independence. >> she texted me afte