Rabies has the highest fatality of any infectious disease. This viral zoonosis can be prevented by avoiding exposures from rabid animals or the administration of prompt and appropriate postexposure prophylaxis after a bite. Once clinical signs begin, death is inevitable. However, the impossible would play out on a bright September morning during 2004. The odyssey unfolded with a routine Wisconsin church service, an unexpected encounter between a good Samaritan and a bat, a volleyball game that ended unexpectedly, and an illness that developed suddenly and became progressively worse. This is the personal account of a brave young girl who beat rabies, the first person to survive without a history of vaccination.