It's been more than four years since Tania Gilbey was attacked on the trails along Mountainview Drive as she was walking home from work.

The vicious assault left her, then 31, beaten unconscious and suffering from brain injuries which continue to stop her from holding down a full-time job.

But the injuries haven't prevented her from completing an arts degree with a French language major from the University of Alberta that she began years ago, and using that degree in her part-time job there.

'I'm managing, but you have to take the good with the bad,' she said in an interview with the Star this week.

Two years after her injury, Gilbey was continuing to work on her recovery by following her doctor's orders to lift weights.

'I was tired of lifting weights. I wasn't achieving what I wanted and I wanted to expand my mind. It got to a point that my mental senses were up and I needed something else,' she said.

It was then she started looking at going back to school. During her first stint at the University of Alberta, she had dropped out when she didn't have the money to finish some of the last few courses she needed. At the time, she was unable to access student loans or other financial assistance to finish the degree.

This time around, she was able to access grants for people with disabilities as well as student loans available to mature students.

Not only did it mean completing the few courses she had left to finish, but also figuring out a whole new way of learning because of her brain injuries.

'It's very frustrating, but the support helped me get through,' said Gilbey.

In the end, she developed a more effective way of learning.

And through her counsellors, she was able to get permission to do some of her courses through correspondence with Athabasca University.

'That helped a lot. It meant I could do them at my own speed,' she said.

The courses would have likely only taken a few months to complete, but due to her injuries, it took her about a year-and-a-half to finish.

Four years after the bizarre attack, Gilbey continues to suffer from chronic fatigue and sleeps about 12 hours a day. That's an improvement over the 18 hours a day she had been sleeping when she first left hospital.

'I'm pretty much a recluse,' said Gilbey.

While she is able to work at two jobs, both are casual hours. As a front desk staff person at a local storage centre, Gilbey works three eight-hour shifts every two weeks.

Her job at the university permits her to use her French language skills in formating electronic technology for blind students. That work includes ensuring the French language on that equipment flows properly.

Though Gilbey has achieved a lot since the attack four years ago, there are some things she has realized she won't be able to do again.

'My father and I came to a crushing realization about a year ago that I can't move out on my own,' Gilbey said.

In Alberta, she said, most households need two full-time incomes to get by. Because she can handle only two casual jobs right now which don't amount to even regular part-time hours, it won't be possible for her to live on her own.

As Gilbey continues to deal with her recovery, there have been no arrests made in relation to the horrific attack.

With no recollection of what happened, Gilbey said it leaves her without that more traumatic memory of the attack.

'The memories were literally smashed out of my head,' she said.

If she had her way, her attacker would be cleaned-out of any funds, with all the money going to help women who are attacked.

In her case, for example, her parents had to pay for renovations to their home because she wasn't able to walk when she arrived home from the hospital.

It would be nice to see support offered to women who are attacked or those who are starting over, she said.

After she was attacked, Gilbey said, it seemed many women in Whitehorse were afraid to leave their homes.

She came back to the territory a year and a half after the attack to co-lead the Take Back the Trails March to help get residents back on the trails.

She continues to send that message to Whitehorse residents.

'I'd hate to see women's rights thrown out because of one attack,' she said.