When she’s not churning out laps in the pool or pumping out reps in the weight room, Mary Quay Wilson enjoys listening to country music.

And if Wilson weren’t the warrior she is, her life might have made for a sad song played during the early-morning hours in some forgotten honky tonk far off the beaten path. A song of woe and despair.

But Wilson is none of those things; she believes in none of those things. Her song is a mighty roar; her example is an ode to the human spirit.

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Wilson, a junior at St. Mary’s, was born with spina bifida, a birth defect that affects about one in every 1,300 births. It’s caused when the neural tube — which develops into the spinal cord and brain — doesn’t close properly during pregnancy.

The severity of the condition varies, but leg weakness is a common trait. Those on the higher end of the spectrum may have paralyzed legs and be forced to use a wheelchair, while others can walk with the aid of braces, crutches or walkers.

Wilson shuttles between the two, using her crutches to get around campus and a wheelchair for longer distances. But despite her lack of “normal” mobility, she’s been able to accomplish some pretty amazing things. She’s a competitive swimmer with the Memphis Tigers club team and an accomplished power-lifter, specializing in the bench press.

As an article on the St. Mary’s web site aptly put it recently, Wilson is making waves.

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“It was 18 years ago this month,” said Wilson’s mom Cathy.

“We went for the big ultrasound and found out she was going to have spina bifida. We didn’t really know what to think about that at all. We sort of started trying to figure out who she would see, what doctors she would need.

“Because the initial doctor that diagnosed her really didn’t give much hope for her potential at all. They suggested terminating the pregnancy. So it was really hard ... it was a really hard time.”

Wilsons parents, however, were determined to give their daughter the most normal life they could. Their older daughter — by two years — had taken swim lessons starting at the age of 3, so they tried the same with Mary Quay.