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Australia was Sandra Teague's dream trip. The 31-year old physical therapist was eagerly headed overseas on her own--to raft, trek and rock climb--because she was willing to try anything, friends said.

Teague, who worked at Georgetown University Hospital and lived in Fairfax, Va., spent the last year planning a three-week adventure Down Under, and she was aboard American Airlines Flight 77 when it smashed into the Pentagon.

"She took joy in everything--whether she was good at it or not," said Meris Chang, director of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the hospital. Chang recalled softball games with work colleagues where Teague would be on the mound. "She wasn't the greatest pitcher, but she had such a good time out there she was a joy to watch," Chang said.

Teague's colleagues believed she was in the middle of one of the happiest years of her life. She was dating a man, was blossoming professionally and had formed solid friendships in a short period of time. Teague moved to the Washington area just last year. She had received her master's degree in physical therapy in 1988 from the University of Osteopathic Medicine and Health Sciences in Des Moines.

Memorial services for Teague in the hospital chapel in Georgetown drew an overflow crowd, Chang said. After hymns and a prayer, friends and family talked about a woman described as an "excellent clinician and a rising star," whose life, in many ways, was just beginning.

Profile courtesy of THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE.