Joni Eareckson Tada

[7] With the example of her parents, Joni lived a very active life all through her growing-up years, enjoying riding horses, hiking, tennis, and swimming.

[4] During her two years of rehabilitation, according to her autobiography Joni, she experienced anger, depression, suicidal thoughts, and religious doubts.

To date, she has written over forty books, recorded several musical albums, and starred in an autobiographical movie of her life, and is an advocate for people with disabilities.

[8] She founded Joni and Friends in 1979, an organization to "accelerate Christian ministry in the disability community"[9] throughout the world.

[10] Led by Tada (founder and CEO) and John Nugent (president and COO), the Joni and Friends International Disability Center runs a multi-faceted non-profit covering a number of program outlets.

[13] Other Joni and Friends programs include Family Retreats (a camp/retreat experience for families affected by disability),[12] Wounded Warrior Getaways (which offer a similar experience for families of Wounded Warriors),[14] and Wheels for the World (which collects manual wheelchairs and other mobility devices to be refurbished by volunteers in prison restoration shops, then shipped overseas, where the wheelchairs are fitted by physical therapists to people in developing nations).

[28] In November 2009, Tada signed an ecumenical statement known as the Manhattan Declaration calling on evangelicals, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians to work towards changing laws which permit abortion, and other matters that go against their religious consciences.

[31] With limited lung capacity due to her disability, Tada, had her husband, Ken, pushing on her diaphragm while she recorded the song to give her enough breath to hit the high notes.

[33] Some controversy followed this decision, and subsequent media attention helped the song's official YouTube video, featuring Tada, surpass one million views.

The life story of Tada was used by Czech composer Ivan Kurz in his opera Večerní shromáždění ketho (Evening Divine service).

[41] In November 2018, Tada was diagnosed with a malignant nodule on her chest wall near the site of her original cancer.