[3][4] Thomas was born in Santa Monica, California, before moving to Windsor, Ontario when she was five years old.
[5] Thomas took up basketball as a student at Vincent Massey High School, and also became a junior champion in volleyball and badminton.
[5] Thomas then went to University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV ), where she also became the top scorer for the basketball team.
[6] However, in 1985, Thomas suffered an ACL tear, which would require multiple knee operations, and go on to end her career.
[6] In 2008, Thomas represented Canada at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, competing in the wheelchair basketball tournament.