An EMT worker who was critically injured five months ago in a West Nyack car crash is on the road to recovery at a New Jersey rehabilitation facility.

Bonnie Ames, 21, was on the way to work on April 14 when the ambulance she was in veered off the road, slamming into a flat bed truck. The impact sliced off the right side of the ambulance where Ames was sitting, nearly killing her.

Since May, she has been living at the Kessler Institute of Rehabilitation in West Orange, New Jersey. Ames says adjusting to the physical changes has been the worst part of her recovery.

"You think you are never going to walk again, something hard to think about, hard to accept especially losing my right arm," she says.

She spends three hours a day in therapy, sometimes working out with a golden Labrador named Pete that is helping her regain strength in her left arm and shoulder.

"She's made amazing progress," says Ames? mother, Liz Ames. "She doesn't always see it, but we keep encouraging her."

Ames is expected to be released from the rehabilitation facility at the end of the month, and she says she ready to return to Orange County and begin preparing for her upcoming wedding.

"She's had a long road, but there's an even longer road ahead, and she'll keep trudging,? her mother says.

A fundraiser will be held Thursday night for Ames at the Black Bear Saloon in Nyack from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

For a full interview with Bonnie Ames, go to your digital cable box and select iO Extra, Channel 612.