Oceana Cameron is lucky to be alive. Photo / Stephen Parker
"Oceana is lucky to be here with us today.
"She had a broken spine, punctured and collapsed lung, two broken collarbones and a shoulder and skin graft.
"It was touch and go for a while."
Cathy Hartigan is talking about her daughter, Oceana Cameron, who was hit by a car on a Tuesday evening in April and is now in a wheelchair for life.
The daughter who spent three months in rehabilitation.
And more importantly, the daughter who is still "the same Oceana" determined to move forward.
Oceana, 17, and her mother, Hartigan, and father, Stephen Rennie, spoke exclusively to the Rotorua Daily Post about the day that changed everything and the way forward.
After the April 16 accident, Oceana was taken to Rotorua Hospital by ambulance before being transferred to Middlemore Hospital via helicopter for further operations. She spent three months recovering in a specialist spinal unit in Auckland.
She has 12 pins holding her spine together and at least another six in her collarbone. She also suffered a minor head injury.
When first transferred to the spinal unit her progress was slow because her broken collarbone meant she couldn't do the exercises she needed to. She spent months building muscle in her arms and learning to use the wheelchair.
The other patients in the unit became like family, Hartigan said.
"She was determined in wanting to get out there ... Just because she's in a wheelchair it's not going to stop her.
"We reassured her she's still Oceana. 'Just because you can't walk you still are Oceana' and everyone loves her.
The family has never met the driver of the car.
But if they did they would tell him they don't blame him.
"I want to give him a hug. It's something he has to live with too," Dad Stephen Rennie said.
Oceana managed to stay positive throughout her recovery because of the family and friends around her.
She doesn't remember the two weeks immediately after the crash but every time she looks down at her wrist she sees a reminder of the people who were by her side throughout that journey and the people who will be by her side as she makes her way forward.
When Oceana got home she and six others went to a tattoo parlour and got matching ink.
It's a sunflower, wrapped right around the wrist. A symbol to stand tall and strong. And alongside it are the initials of those key to her recovery, her parents, a friend, others.
After months in the spinal unit Oceana returned home on July 9.
Now she's back at home, the family has had to have a special accessible shower and ramp installed. They are still waiting on some adaptations to the house, not far from where the accident happened.
Oceana is focused on her independence. She wants to get her driver's licence and a car and plans to study next year.
"[Toi Ohomai] are going to help with career advice and find something that will suit me. They ask what I like to do and then tell me what I can do.
"I'd enjoy doing something that would help others because people have done so much for me."
Her mum has suggested she coach a netball team. It's a sport she played and loved.
"Life, in general, has changed majorly, but she's learning and adapting," Hartigan said.
"It's affected Oceana but it's also affecting us as parents and her siblings.
"It's life-changing for everyone."
Rennie said the family was still learning and adapting.
"We still don't know quite what's out there in the world. There's so much we have not got to but we're slowly realising we can still do things.
"Going to a course will open another world."
Police have since confirmed the crash was an accident and the case has now been filed.
Throughout the recovery journey, family and friends have given unwavering support to Oceana.
Even strangers have supported the family. A Givealittle page started to support the family raised more than $4000. A stranger gave Oceana a dog to help with her recovery.
"Oceana's friends were there from day one," Rennie said.
"They were all part of the motivation to get out [of the spinal unit].
"It was the little nothings that mean a lot. There's lots of things people did they didn't know they were doing."
It's those people, those "nothings" Oceana is reminded of as she looks down at the initials etched on her wrist. A reminder of how far she's come. A reminder of the people who helped her get there.