- They pretty much told us that she's got

only a few hours to live.

We can either take her homeand put her in a dark room

and let her die or leave her there.

- [Narrator] High school,sophomore, Jeanna Giese,

was halfway through a weeklong volleyball tournament

when she started feeling ill.

Her mom, Ann, kept a close eye on her.

- On Thursday she went toschool, not feeling good,

but she had a volleyball game that night.

And so she wanted to makesure she could play in it.

- [Narrator] By gametime, Jeanna had developed

double vision and was too tired to play.

- We knew something was wrong.

So then Friday morning, Icalled her pediatrician.

- [Narrator] Her pediatricianwas concerned about

the double vision and referredthem to a neurologist.

The CAT scan and blood work were ordered,

both came back normal.

- So we went home, she went right to bed.

I prayed and I asked God,what is wrong with her?

And I called my sisters and my family

and can have everybody pray for her.

- [Narrator] Jeanna continued to decline.

By Saturday morning, she couldn't walk.

So Anne rushed her to the emergency room.

As doctors probed foranswers, Ann remembered

an unusual day in lateSeptember when a bat

flew into church andJeanna went to help it.

- She picked it up bythe tips of the wings

and carried it outside.

And on the way out, itbit her on the finger.

- [Narrator] The bite was just a pinprick.

So they cleaned it andthought nothing more of it.

Now, however.

- His face turned white and he said,

"She's going to Children's Hospital."

I was getting worried.

I didn't know what couldbe going on with her.

- [Narrator] It would take three more days

for tests to confirm thedoctors fears, rabies.

The virus attacks thespinal cord and brain,

and is 100% fatal ifnot treated immediately.

For Jeanna, it had been four weeks,

too late to receive the vaccine.

- And they were like,she's probably only got

a few hours to live and there'sreally nothing we can do.

My husband and I looked at each other

and we just both started crying.

- [Narrator] Her doctordid have one suggestion,

a theoretical treatmentnever before tried.

Put Jeanna in a coma, giveher some viral medication,

and hope her body would fight.

- Dr. Willoughby had noreally idea on how long

they'd keep her in the coma.

We don't know if it's gonna work.

She could come out avegetable. We just don't know.

- [Narrator] With her parents permission,

doctors proceeded.

Prayer chains for Jeanna hadspread around the country,

asking for a miracle.

Ann remembers those longdays by Jeanna's bedside.

Finally, after a week,

blood tests showed signs thatJeanna's system was fighting.

- She had more antibodiesthan they've ever seen

so that there is a miracle in itself.

- [Narrator] By the end of another week,

tests showed no trace of the virus

and the medical teambrought her out of the coma.

However, her doctor wasn'tsure if she would ever speak

or even move again, as Jeannashowed no signs of responding.

- And then one day he openedher eyes and he held them open

and he said, Jeanna, thisis Doctor Willoughby.

Your mom's here. Can you look over at her?

And I said, Jeanna, I'm over here.

You know, it's mom. Andshe turned her head.

And that's when we knew that she was okay.

(calm music)

- The first thing that Iremember from waking up,

my entire family came.

Went down to the cafeteria to eat dinner.

And I just remember,brothers were, you know,

saying jokes and I washaving a really great time.

- [Narrator] In therapyfor the next nine weeks.

Jeanna would need moreprayer and God's strength.

- You learn basicallyeverything, walking, moving,

grabbing things, speaking.

It was a huge mix of emotionbetween pain and frustration

and confusion and everything together.

- [Narrator] Then on January1st, 2005, Jeanna came home.

In fact, she made medicalhistory as the first person ever

to survive rabies without the vaccine.

- It was a special day. Awesome day.

The whole family together,not in the hospital.

- [Narrator] That was nearly 17 years ago.

Today, Jeanna is married,has a college degree,

and is the mother tothree beautiful children.

She also raises sled dogsand enjoys living life

to the fullest.

- I do thank God that,hey, I'm still breathing.

I have this family, I'mdoing all this stuff.

So yeah, I think between educating others

and being the wife and themother and having my family,

I think that's why I'm still here.

God pulled me through.

- I had faith before, but itdid definitely became stronger.

You know, I prayed moreand feeling of, wow,

He got her through this.

It was pretty amazing.