At the age of five, she fell off a slide and damaged a bone in her left wrist while holidaying in Batemans Bay.

[1][2] After her recovery, she resumed gymnastics due to the encouragement of her parents, and took up jazz ballet, impressing the local community so much that she received a Canterbury Council Centenary Medal for Achievement.

[2] She played an active role in the New South Wales Amputee Sports Association, often serving as their spokesperson.

[1] She married Paul Elliott in 1988 and had three children with him, Chloe, Nathan and Alexa; the family moved to Brisbane in 1999, where Eames worked at Qantas.

[1] She was made a life member of the Hurstville Amateur Swimming Club,[1] and in 2000, she received an Australian Sports Medal.