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Ueng was helping Virtual Heroes, which makes serious games and simulations for the military and other industries, with its marketing strategy and fundraising. Waiting for Ueng to heal put the company behind, but Heneghan never considered taking his business elsewhere.

"Grace is irreplaceable," he says. "You cannot swap her out."

Friends, neighbors and members of her church, White Plains United Methodist, also came to her aid. They formed a 24-7 care team until Ueng's elderly parents arrived. Her ex-husband took care of their son. Ueng can't remember who else did what. And it frustrates her not knowing all the people to thank for their kindness. But she remembers that people cooked her meals, transported her back and forth to doctor visits, gave her baths and changed her linen.

Her biggest worry was her short-term memory. She could remember what she wore on her prom night but not a movie she had seen just a month before the accident.

"It was very, very scary," she says.

She had always kept detailed notes and e-mail. So when she had insomnia, Ueng would get up and pore over her files to exercise her mind, fill the gaps in her memory.

She sent e-mail to close friends asking them to prompt her memory: "How do I know this person? Where did I meet them?"

Others saw her struggling, too. Hanlon remembers her e-mail notes in particular. Before the accident, they were concise, precise with details, and never a grammatical mistake. During her recovery -- when she wasn't supposed to be working -- the messages were short and choppy "like the rest of us communicate," he says.

"It was interesting to watch them progress to the old Grace."

Critical time

One of the worst things that can happen to a young company is to have its owner flat on her back.

Customers may be understanding at first, but if you're not back at the top of your game soon, they will go elsewhere. They have their business to consider, too.

Ueng knew that. She was determined to get back. The doctors said three months. She fought them at first, but then calmed down. After all, she couldn't move her neck.

But she rested in her own way. People gave her DVDs; she didn't watch them. No wallowing on the couch. She put together scrapbooks with her son. Some days they went fishing. She went to physical therapy for three months.

She didn't stop thinking about work.

Before the accident, Ueng had been gathering data for a client. After the accident, finishing that one project became her personal goal.

"I set a deadline, three weeks," Ueng says. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could do as good a job as ever."

She presented the report on Nov. 21. Her 75-year-old father drove her to the meeting; she had just gotten permission to phase out of the neck brace.

Before Christmas, she was meeting with clients. By January, she was working full time.

"I would have expected a slower pace, but it was absolutely the contrary," says Heneghan. We can't keep up with Grace."

How it happened

Ueng learned to ride a bike in 2002 to compete in triathlons. Endurance sports are relaxing to her. So when she was thinking of something "really cool" she could do for her 40th birthday, she settled on a biking trek in Sonoma, Calif.

On the third day of the trip, Ueng and the six other cyclists decided to take on a steep winding mountain trail. After a grueling 3-mile trek up Sonoma Mountain, they reached the top. The guide asked, "How are you doing?" Ueng answered, "Fine," and began descending the curvy mountain side.

Ueng has no memory of the accident, nor has anyone come forth with any details about what caused her to be forcefully thrown from her bike. She thinks she reached speeds of 40 mph. She thinks she may have hit a rock in the road.

Her friend Holcomb says he doesn't ride bikes now. Neither does Ueng.

Now she runs, and has completed two 5Ks in the past two months. She also has learned that she's not invincible. "I don't need that any more," she says. "I won't take risks that will endanger my life."

Friends and clients say the accident was in some ways a gift -- for her and them. More than one says it has made them realize how precious life is and that they can't leave business to chance. They're taking out insurance, making contingency plans.

As for Ueng, they say she now seems happier, more comfortable in her own skin. She still works hard, but keeps work in perspective. She won't shortchange her personal life.

Now she's planning another trip. This time with her son. They're going to China to visit relatives Nicholas has never met. There will be very little business. She's going to practice her Chinese.

That was something else the accident gave her: She had forgotten most of the Mandarin Chinese she knew as a little girl. After the head trauma, she realized she was fluent again.

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