Waitomo crash survivor Kirsten Steinke has been able to welcome in the new year at her parent's home in Colorado, three months after a collision claimed the life of her newlywed husband and left her fighting for her life.
The pair were on their honeymoon in New Zealand in September when their vehicle collided with a cement truck at a Waitomo intersection.
Kallan Stithem died at the scene, and Ms Steinke spent a month at Waikato Hospital recovering enough from her severe head injuries to go home to Colorado to continue her recovery.
Just before the new year Ms Steinke wrote on her blog that she was now officially an outpatient and could live at her parents' home.
"I might be the first 28 year old this excited about living with my parents,'' she wrote.