Hannah Kaplan is on the road to recovery after falling from the second story of a Chilean hostel three months ago while studying abroad.

Kaplan, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, was on a weekend excursion to Valparaiso with three friends when she leaned back onto a metal guardrail on the windowsill of her hostel and it gave way behind her. She broke several bones and sustained traumatic brain injuries that left her unconscious for weeks.

After undergoing two brain surgeries in Chile, Kaplan was airlifted back home to Evanston, Ill., where she began her recovery process.

Since then, Kaplan’s condition has improved significantly, according to her parents, Mark and Cheryl. She still has trouble with swallowing food and with her short-term memory, but she can walk on her own and speak. She is receiving regular speech, occupational and physical therapy.

Her parents said that it will take up to two years to gauge the level of her recovery, but they are optimistic about her future.

The University responded quickly to Kaplan’s accident. Evelyn Vitagliano, Resident Director of the Chile program arrived at the hospital within hours of Kaplan being admitted.

The next day, Dr. Amy Suelzer, the Assistant Director of International and Area Studies, flew to Chile to provide further assistance. Her fluency in Spanish allowed her to assist Kaplan’s family in communicating with the local hospital as well as the insurance company, Kaplan’s parents said.

On Monday morning, two days after the accident, the University called a meeting with members from Overseas Programs, WUPD, the University’s crisis response team and insurance office and representatives from the College of Arts & Sciences, according to Dr. Suelzer.

“Some universities might have washed their hands of this problem, but [Wash. U.] really held our hands through this and we’re very grateful for that kind of support and understanding,” Cheryl said.

The University also provided outreach to the Greek community as well as other communities in which Kaplan was involved.

Kaplan is a psychology and Spanish double major and hopes to go into teaching. She is a runner, a member of the Delta Gamma sorority and was involved in Relay for Life.

She is currently on a medical leave of absence from the University and hopes to continue her studies.

“[Hannah] is one of the most positive people that I know and has the ability to see the good in every situation,” said Julie Kennedy, a friend who was with Kaplan when she fell. “She is a huge people person…and great at bringing people together. There were 21 of us abroad, and we knew maybe a third of them going into it. She made a strong effort to get to know everyone.”

Kaplan and her friends found the hostel through student travel sites. It turns out it was unlicensed and had numerous health and safety violations. Since the accident, the Kaplans have taken actions to have the hostel closed down.

Despite the accident, the Kaplans say that the Chile program was a wonderful experience for their daughter and that they would not discourage anyone from attending the program in the future. But they encourage students to be careful about where they stay while traveling.

“Until the accident happened, Hannah’s time in Chile was probably the happiest and most rewarding time of her life. She enjoyed her studies, adored her host family and made huge improvements in language,” Mark said. “It was one of those senseless tragedies that happened.”

In a statement to Student Life, Dr. Suelzer voiced the University’s regret at what happened and thanked the community for its responsiveness.

“We were deeply saddened by the accident that took place in Chile, and have expressed our sincerest concerns to our students and their families. We are also thankful to the university community for its tremendous outreach and support during this very difficult time,” she wrote.