A report on the struggle to overcome incredible odds, and how it may forge a bond between a Willshire, Ohio man and a teenager he's never even met.
The two share a battle against a deadly disease, the one inspiring the other to fight and survive.
Last month, 15-year-old Jeanna Giese of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin was diagnosed with what would become an advanced case of rabies, almost always fatal.
So when in the past few days, she showed remarkable improvement and was taken off a respirator, her friends believed they'd seen a miracle.
Giese’s classmate Ashley Schneider says, "We feel our prayers have really been answered."
Throughout the ordeal, above her hospital bed, Jeanna's parents kept a photo of a six-year-old boy they never knew.
It was 33-years ago when Matthew Winkler, in the room above, awoke to a real nightmare.
Rabies survivor Matthew Winkler says, "It was a bat, and I screamed. Mom and dad ran upstairs and dad ripped it off my thumb."
Winkler was given a series of shots, but the bat bite infected him just the same.
Winkler says, "Back then, you get rabies, you know, plan the funeral, that's just it."
But it wasn't "it".
For whatever reason, Winkler made it through, and articles written in newspapers and medical publications were discovered by the Giese's, and embraced as a reason to fight for survival.
Winkler has kept a sense of humor about the traumatic event long ago.
He says his friends all affectionately refer to him as 'Batman'.
And he's proud of the fact his name is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Winkler says, "The only known survivor of rabies was Matthew James Winkler. Well, I'm still around, so I think they screwed up with the 'was'."
Thanks for posting Matthew's story. Waaaaaaaaay back in nursing school days we had talked about it...;-D