Vancouver teacher with disability escapes apartment after elevator fixed 12 days later

After 12 days trapped in her Gastown condo, Shannon Elmer is finally free.

The Vancouver teacher, who uses a wheelchair after a skiing accident four years ago took away her ability to walk, was unable to leave her seventh-floor home after the lone elevator in her building broke down May 27.

Now, Elmer is breathing fresh air once again and getting back to the active lifestyle she enjoys so much.

WATCH: (Aired June 3) Vancouver woman trapped in condo by broken elevator

1:56 Vancouver woman trapped in condo by broken elevator

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said Sunday on her way to the water for a kayaking trip — the third one she’s taken this weekend.

“I’m excited to be back on the water, and finally able to leave my apartment and do whatever I want.”

The elevator initially went out of service because of a broken motor. With no replacements nearby, a new motor had to be shipped to Vancouver from Ontario and reprogrammed in the U.S.

Elmer said the elevator was first fixed on Thursday, which is when she first ventured outside “for about a few hours.”

But when she woke up Friday, she was told the elevator had broken down again sometime overnight.

“I thought it was some kind of a joke,” Elmer said. “It was my parents who told me, because they had to hike up seven flights of stairs. But my manager said it was real.”

The building staff worked fast, however, and by mid-afternoon Friday it was up and running, though it forced Elmer to miss work yet again.

“It was hard, because I had told my students I was coming back Friday, and then I had to call in and say, ‘No, I can’t leave again,'” she said. “That was frustrating.”

Elmer has since been assured the elevator will be working “for a really long time.”

The teacher is now planning to return to work for good on Monday, though she knows the next week will be stressful as she catches up on preparing report cards.

“I’m pretty nervous about that,” she said.

For now, Elmer is just happy to be back on the water again.

“It’s where I feel most calm and relaxed, it’s just so much happiness,” she said.

“I feel like all I did was eat and sleep, so it feels great to be here.”