A Ramseur Elementary School teacher is taking her recovery day-by-day.
"I'm in rehab right now, I just finished a very intense rehab helping me be able to just move from the waist up," Erica Castillo said.
RELATED: 'I Didn't Know If She Would Make It' | Ramseur Elementary School Teacher Hit by Impaired Driver
Castillo was hit head-on by an impaired driver in November as she was on her way to school. Her recovery has been long, and extensive.
"I had two surgeries but during those surgeries, the first one was ten hours long and the second one was eight hours long so they took care of a lot during those two surgeries."
In fact, her family didn't even know if she would survive.
"My husband and my family are dealing with a lot because they remember the way I showed up at the hospital and they had to wait a while before they knew if I was even alive, so they’ve been through a lot and they still remember all of that."
She spent a total of 37 days at UNC Trauma Center, meaning she spent the holidays at the hospital. She was discharged on December 27.
"I spent Christmas at the hospital this year which was very different from other Christmases we celebrated before, and it definitely had its struggles the day of Christmas but we were together."
Erica and her doctors don't know if she'll ever make a full recovery, but she's hopeful.
"I expect to be able to walk again but there might not be a full recovery."
Since Erica doesn't have a set timeline for her recovery, she doesn't know when she'll be able to teach again.
"I would hope to get back as soon as I can, really it all just depends how my recovery goes, I miss my students so much and so I would love to get back as soon as I can but it's still a road of recovery."
She says the outpouring of support from the community has kept her spirits high.
"My school has been so supportive, my gym has been so supportive, and the community has been so supportive," Castillo said. "I have days I’m down for sure, and moments that are hard to get through but staying positive is the only way I think I can make progress."