She remembers the day of her car accident, June 16, 2001, as a rainy, but not stormy day.

"When I was driving down the road, I heard the tree crack," she says.

All of a sudden, the tree smashed onto her car, leaving her semi-conscious until rescue came.

After the accident, Brandt, 52, spent three weeks in North Florida Regional Medical Center and then was flown to Jackson Memorial in Miami. While in Miami, she participated in the Miami Project, which is known for its spinal cord injury treatments.

Now, over one year after that rehabilitation, she volunteers for the locomotor rehabilitation program at UF, a program that studies the possibility of patients with spinal cord injuries relearning to walk.

One UF therapy student steadies Brandt, who is harnessed from the ceiling in parachute-type rigging, while another therapy student and assistant professor and physical therapist Dr. Andrea Behrman sit level on each side of Brandt's legs.

"We need 10 really nice steps," Dr. Behrman says. "Set it at point 8 again."

The treadmill whirrs to that speed as they manually guide Brandt's legs through the motions.

She bares her teeth for each step, and her legs are somewhat wobbly. But after she gets through the sequence, everyone in the room applauds.

Today Brandt has reached a new level. Last week she could take only three or four steps at once, but she now can take 10 steps at a time.

Brandt also receives water therapy, which she says helps with her standing endurance.

Now she is up to an 11-minute exercise with the UF rehab. She began the UF program with stamina for only three-minute intervals per visit.

After today's therapy session, the 10 students discuss Brandt's improvement with Dr. Behrman. She asks the students their thoughts of today's session.

One student says, "I think she's a whole lot better."

"What a difference," another says.

While Dr. Behrman agrees, she offers advice on next week's focus. "We want more loading. Want to see her holding her trunk up."

She explains that while it may be easier for Brandt to walk if the body weight support lifts her more, Brandt's nervous system needs that resistance to work properly. She says they don't want Brandt to have a feeling of flying.

Their goal, she says, is to get good quality stepping.

Dr. Behrman says that therapy is not always a forward progression.

When something presents differently than before, they need to alert Brandt. They should respond to her needs.

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