Kimberly McNeill: Our miracle girl | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Doctors turned off her life support 7 weeks ago.

Now Kimberly McNeill is walking, talking and singing.

Kimberly McNeill returned home this week, walking and talking, less than two months after doctors said she'd never recover from her severe injuries.

Her story of survival has been nothing short of extraordinary. A car crash shortly after Christmas last year left the life of the Havelock North teenager hanging by a thread.

Kimberly, 18, was put on life support and transferred to Auckland City Hospital. After 15 days, her doctors turned off the machine against her family's wishes.

Defying the odds, she pulled through and was transferred to Hawke's Bay Hospital to begin her long road to recovery.

On Wednesday she returned to her parents' home where the promising actor was singing, talking and slowly regaining her independence. Parents James McNeill and Jackie Kiddle were elated to have their daughter home. Mr McNeill said she was making "great progress".

"To have her home so early is another outstanding milestone ... Kimberly has a long way to go, but the sky's the limit," he said.

She would continue to receive a range of treatments at home, which were complemented by Chinese herbs, homeopathy, acupuncture, osteopathy and spiritual healing.

Her parents were positive that with the right combination of treatments, love and support, she would make a full recovery.

Mr McNeill said support from her friends, including some who have been temporarily displaced by the Christchurch earthquake, helped give Kimberly the strength to pull through.

He praised the team at Hawke's Bay Hospital for their efforts in rehabilitation.

Mr McNeill and Ms Kiddle have spent the last two months at their daughter's side. But they were preparing to return to part-time work at their Napier acupuncture clinic over the coming weeks as Kimberly continued to improve.

While many of her Napier Girls' High School friends were embarking on their first year away from home and revelling in university life, Kimberly's plan to study a Bachelor of Communications at AUT was put on hold.

She would instead put all her energy into gaining what was lost in the accident.

But her parents were confident their "extraordinary young lady" would join her friends next year and be back on the path she intended.