She was told that she may never play the sport she loves again, but James Madison field hockey star Meghan Bain defied all odds.

"In my heart, knowing the feisty child that I have, I always stuck with there wasn't a day out in my mind," says Meghan's mother, Debbie.

Celebrating Senior Day for Bain was more than just flowers and congratulations. It was a landmark event that one her family didn't know she would ever get to witness.

"It's every parents nightmare, to get a phone call at 1:30 in the morning," says Meghan's father, Bryan.

"My first reaction was to run up the steps because I didn't exactly know who my husband was talking to," adds Debbie. "Of course, he was extremely upset."

Meghan was crossing Neff Avenue in Harrisonburg early on the morning of March 15, 2008 when she was struck by a car. She was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center with a severe head injury, a broken tibia, facial fractures and a hemorrhage in her right eye.

She spent three days in a coma.

"I had a six-hour drive, not knowing whether I was going to make an organ-donning decision or exactly what my daughter's condition was," says Bryan.

After the accident, Meghan's doctors said it was unlikely she would ever play field hockey again.

"Through the process of her rehabilitation, I kept telling her, 'There is 50 percent, Meg, that you may not be out here [on the field],'" says Debbie. "She kept saying there is no 50 percent."

"I have this self-drive, and I knew that it wasn't the end for me, that I was going to pick up a hockey stick again," adds Meghan.

Just months later, after therapy and rehabilitation, Meghan was back on the field.

"I just couldn't believe it that she was getting cleared," says JMU head field hockey coach Antoinette Lucas. "We took her out for an individual on the field, and it was just the happiest moment to have her back on the field and her being able to do something she loved so much."

"I was really excited, but at the same time, I was confused because I didn't remember the sport at all, the rules of the game. I didn't remember what position I played," says Meghan, who also doesn't remember the crash. "I basically had to relearn the sport over."

Meghan leaves the Dukes ranked seventh on the all-time scoring list with 42 goals. For her determination and perseverance, she earned the John H. Randolph Inspiration Award and the ECAC Award of Valor.

"There's a lot of people behind them that pushed her to be where she is today," says Debbie. "It's the staff here at JMU, it's the school, it's the teachers, it's everybody. She never would have been here on her own."

Meghan adds, "I think when it comes down to it, everyone cares about one another and from them helping support you, you can get through anything."