Jeanna Giese truly is a medical miracle. Less than four years ago she was in a coma fighting for her life. Today she is a vibrant, energetic 18-year-old college student and the only documented survivor of rabies without being vaccinated.
In September 2004, Jeanna was bitten by a bat she had rescued from her church. She didn't think much about it at first, but a month later when she was having tremors and difficulty walking, she was transported to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. She had contracted rabies, a universally fatal disease once diagnosed. With the consent of her family, her medical team took a chance and tried a treatment shown to have success with other neurological disases. The team believed they could protect Jeanna's brain and spinal cord from the rabies virus by putting her into a drug-induced coma. By doing this, they believed she might be able to fight off the rabies virus. Seven days later she was brought out of the coma, and a few months later left the hospital disease free.
Jeanna doesn't remember anything about the fight for her life. But she does remember waking up at Children's Hospital surrounded by people who care. The nurses were like her girlfriends – laughing and joking often to make her feel at home.
What Jeanna's family remembers is the shared commitment by all of the caregivers at Children's Hospital. It has been three years since Jeanna's ordeal but she remains close to the doctors, nurses and the rest of the staff. In fact, she recently had an outing with her doctor and his family for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Milwaukee County Zoo.
Jeanna's biggest challenge no longer is her health – its college. She is a freshman studying biology and zoology. She wants to work with animals. She also is a budding amateur photographer.