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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- Aleasha Billing was hit by a car in the northwest valley nearly six months ago. She suffered severe head injuries and is still in a coma. Thursday marked her 17th birthday.

"She's here with us and that's all that matters," says Aleasha's mom, Carrie Billing. "If we have to spend her birthday at bedside, then that's what we're going to do."

Aleasha's family decorated her room at the rehabilitation center with flowers and balloons. They also bought a cake and presents, just like old times. Only this year, their lives are very different.

"There isn't anything that I don't miss about Aleasha," Carrie says. "She was always happy, energetic, and so full of life."

Now, Aleasha is unresponsive. She's hooked up to a ventilator and other machines. Doctors aren't able to predict how she'll recover.

"They can't tell us when, and they don't know how she's going to be when she wakes up," Carrie says.

The accident that put Aleasha in this condition happened the night after Thanksgiving. She was walking across Lone Mountain Road, near El Capitan, when she was hit by a car.

Police did not find the driver at fault. They say Aleasha was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Other drivers in the area told investigators it was too dark to see anyone. There are no street lights or crosswalk.

Aleasha's younger sister, Mellissa, was there when it happened. She's had a hard time coping with the memory.

"Spending Aleasha's birthday here is really difficult," Mellissa says. "It's hard to see her this way. But we're here to show her we love her."

That love for Aleasha is what gives them strength. They have not faltered in their belief that she will wake up.

"I'll keep waiting, and will be here when she does," Carrie says. "I'm not losing my faith or hope in that."