In the coming weeks, the new rabies treatment protocol pioneered by Dr. Willoughby and his colleagues will be scrutinized through peer review for journal publication.

Long Road Ahead

In recent weeks, Jeanna has worked to regain weight, strength and coordination, the hospital notes in a statement announcing her release. At home, she will continue a rigorous course of speech, physical and occupational therapy.

"We still have a long road ahead of us," said Jeanna's mother, Ann Giese. "Jeanna does not yet look or sound entirely like she used to, but she has come tremendously far and her progress continues. We're looking forward to being home together. We haven't had a chance to celebrate Christmas yet as a family, and having Jeanna home with us is the best gift we could have wished for."

Jeanna's father, John Giese, added, "Throughout Jeanna's illness and recovery, we've been blessed with a tremendous outpouring of prayers and support from our friends, family, community and strangers around the world, not to mention the skill and care of Jeanna's doctors and nurses at Children's Hospital. So many people cared for her in so many ways that we'll never be able to thank them enough."

Bite from Infected Bat

Jeanna Giese contracted rabies from an infected bat September 12 and was admitted to Children's Hospital on October 18. Her survival and recovery are due to a new treatment protocol developed through the collaborative efforts of her care team.

A combination of drugs was used to protect her nervous system while her natural immunity caught up to eradicate the rabies virus. Although the effects of the illness -- which attacks the nervous system -- and the protective coma still are evident, tests conducted within the past few weeks leave her doctors optimistic for a nearly full recovery with continued therapy.

"Medically, Jeanna is sound," said Rodney Willoughby, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital and associate professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "On her MRI scans, there is slight evidence of her past rabies, as well as evidence for ongoing repair of her brain two months later. The MRI findings are mild enough to not be clinically important," he noted. 

Pick Up Where She Left Off

"We expect Jeanna will continue to refine her speech and coordination through therapy," added Dr. Willoughby. "She has had some extra movements that are subsiding. She's lost a lot of weight, muscle mass and flexibility that she needs to regain. We truly won't know whether her recovery is full until she shows us where her progress stops -- there's no limit currently. Intellectually, she can certainly go to back to high school and pick up where she left off."

In the coming weeks, the new treatment protocol pioneered by Dr. Willoughby and his colleagues will be scrutinized through peer review for journal publication.

Because the drugs used are common and readily available, Dr. Willoughby is hopeful that the treatment will have a significant impact in developing nations where rabies infection is much more common than in the United States. Already, Children's Hospital physicians are considering application of similar techniques in the treatment of other illnesses that affect the nervous system.