In my opinion, her achievement is based on the fact that she managed to alter the image of a handicapped person which persisted in many minds.

persisted 是动词 persist 的过去式。persist 由前缀 per-（表示"完全、彻底"）和词根 sist（来自拉丁语 sistere，意为"站立"）组成，字面意思是"完全站立不动"，引申为"持续存在、坚持"。 在句中表示"（某种观念或印象）持续存在于许多人的脑海中"。