[2] At the age of 15, Rakiecki and an impaired driver of another automobile were involved in a May 22, 1977 early morning vehicle head-on accident in Kelowna, British Columbia that left her spinal cord severed, leaving her a paraplegic from the hips down and unable to walk and her father Stefan dead.

[7] Rakiecki graduated from the University of British Columbia with a four-year physical education degree in 1986,[1][2] which she augmented with a teaching diploma the following year.

[2] In 1980, Rakiecki claimed six track and field gold medals and established new Canadian records in her victories in the women's 60, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1500 metres events.

[12][13] Later that year at the Canadian Games for the Physically Disabled in Toronto, as a representative for British Columbia, she placed second in the women's Class 4 wheelchair event.

[19] In 1985, she won that year's Harry Jerome International Track Classic at Swangard Stadium with a new Canadian record and came third at the Honolulu Marathon Wheelchair event.

[20][21] The following year, Rakiecki was chosen by the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association as one of 23 athletes to partake in the 1986 Stoke Mandeville Games in Aylesbury, England.

[4][5] In late 1987, she sought assistance from middle-distance coach Doug Clement to obtain a medal at the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul, South Korea.

[28] She was due to compete at the Seoul Paralympics but was required to withdraw as a result of an inflamed bursa at the base of her spine needing draining and emergency surgery that forced her to retire from track and field on the advice of doctors due to the pressure of frequently remaining seated in one position for long periods of time.

[35] She later competed in the 1996 BC Open in Vancouver that July, reaching the singles final where she lost to fellow Canadian Yuka Chokyu.