In the days and weeks following her accident, Harpin admits she struggled with accepting her paralysis and the likelihood that she'd never again walk without help. 几天过去了，几周过去了，哈宾承认她一直难以接受自己瘫痪的事实，并担心自己没有别人的帮助再也不能走路了。

"I'm thankful that no one ever stood in front of me and said, 'You're never going to be able to walk again.' “我很感激没有人站在我面前对我说，‘你再也不能走路了。’

I knew on my own that I couldn't move, but that helped me never to lose hope." 我自己知道我动不了，但这让我永远不会失去希望。”

She credits her family—father Bill, 59, mother Dawn, 54, and sister Katie, 23—with helping her find the strength to push through, never leaving her side during her hospital stay. 她感谢她的家人——59岁的父亲比尔、54岁的母亲道恩和23岁的妹妹凯蒂——帮助她找到了前进的动力，在住院期间从未离开过她的身边。

"They held my hand throughout it all," says Harpin. “他们自始至终握着我的手，”哈宾说。

"One of them would stay and sleep in the room with me on a chair, and they'd switch of every other night," she says. “他们会留一个人陪我，睡在病房里的椅子上，而且他们每隔一晚就会换人，”她说。

Close friends from college rallied to her side as well. 大学里的好朋友也在她身边。

"I was trying my best to stay strong for them so that they didn't feel bad," “为了他们，我尽力保持坚强，这样他们就不会感到难过。”

"I feel like that gave me a lot of strength. I'm where I am today because of the support system that was there right from the beginning." “我觉得这给了我很大的力量。我之所以能站在今天的位置，是因为支持体系从一开始就在。”

Two weeks after the accident, Harpin was transferred to the spinal unit of the hospital, where she began months of grueling physical therapy. 事故发生两周后，哈宾被转移到医院的脊柱科， 在那里她开始了几个月的艰苦的物理治疗。

Regaining her confidence also became a critical part of reclaiming her life. 恢复信心也成为了她恢复生活的关键部分。

A week before heading from Miami to Gaylord Hospital in Wallingford for further rehab—and where she'd be closer to home—Harpin asked her sister to come to the hospital with her favorite dress and hair curlers. 从迈阿密前往沃林福德的盖洛德医院（这里离家更近）接受进一步康复治疗的前一周，哈宾请妹妹带着她最喜欢的裙子和卷发器来医院。

"I did my hair for the first time in two months," she remembers, "and then we went outside... and took hundreds of pictures." “我两个月来第一次做头发，”她回忆道，“然后我们就出去了……拍了几百张照片。”

Somehow, seeing herself in those photos gave Harpin the emotional boost she needed. 不知何故，哈宾看到照片中的自己，情绪上得到了鼓励。

"I was like, 'O kay, I'm still me. I'm just sitting down,'" she says. "I remember I posted one of them on Instagram, and it made me feel great." “我想‘我还是我，我只是坐下来了’”她说。“我记得我在Instagram上发了一张照片，感觉很棒。”

Ultimately, she adds, "I had to learn not to dwell on what could have been. I had to stay motivated and not feel sorry for myself." 最后，她补充说，“我必须学会不去想本可以如何。我必须保持积极性，不为自己后悔。”

These days Harpin continues a rigorous regimen of physical therapy and weekly sessions with an Exoskeleton strapped on. 如今，哈宾继续着严格的物理疗法，每周都要进行一次外骨骼训练。

And in addition to being back at work, she's going on dates (hoping to meet "the one"), taking weekend trips with friends and even planning to go skydiving. 除了回去工作，她还会去约会(希望能遇到“真命天子”)，和朋友们一起周末旅行，甚至计划去跳伞。

"It's crazy that there are so many active things on my bucket list, because I never really considered myself a risk-taker before," she says. 她说:“我的遗愿清单上有这么多活动，这太疯狂了，因为我以前从未真正认为自己是一个冒险家。”

Harpin still credits her parents' support with keeping her spirits up. "They've pushed me to do more things too," she says. 哈宾仍然认为父母的支持使她振作起来。“他们也敦促我多做些事情，”她说。

Although she still has moments when she "really wishes this wasn't how my life turned out," she finds a measure of pride in looking back on all she's accomplished since the accident. 尽管有些时候她仍会“真希望我的生活不是这样”，但回忆起事故发生后所取得的成就，她还是觉得很自豪。

"I'm happier than I ever was before my fall," she says. "I'm going to live the life I'm lucky enough to have." 她说:“我比摔伤之前更快乐。”“我要过我有幸拥有的生活。”