Two years on from surviving a horror crash which left her fighting for her life, Kim Powers is back on her feet and back behind the wheel.
After spending six weeks in Wellington Hospital - four of those in a coma - and then 10 months at a rehab unit in Porirua, doctors said there was a chance Powers would never walk again.
But she was determined to prove them wrong.
"I'm very lucky to be alive, to have made it to 26," she said yesterday.
"I can't remember the crash itself but I can remember before it happened, it was windy and raining.
"They weren't sure if I was going to walk again, they told my parents that . . . but I didn't want to believe it."
In 2014, 24-year-old Powers suffered a brain injury, a broken jaw, broken arm, and cut up legs, when the car she was driving crashed into a power pole near Clareville in wet conditions.
Almost three years later, Powers is able to walk short distances with the assistance of a walking frame or quad stick.
The car slid into a power pole with such force it smashed off the front wheels and motor.
Powers, 24 at the time, was unable to be reached through the wreckage, so fire crews from Masterton and Carterton performed a time-critical extrication by "stretching" the car's body.
Two fire engines used chains, with one as an anchor point and another pulling away, to unfold the chassis.
By stretching the car emergency services were able to cut Powers free in about 10 minutes.
She was stabilised in a Wellington Free Ambulance before being stretchered to the Life Flight Westpac rescue helicopter.
Unconscious and in a serious but stable condition, she was airlifted to Wellington Hospital, where she remained in a coma for four weeks.