By now you’ve probably heard that 8-year-old Precious Reynolds of Willow Creek is the third person in the United States (and the eighth worldwide) to survive having symptomatic rabies.

If you’ve seen movies like “Old Yeller” or “Cujo,” you’re probably well aware that rabies is above and beyond being a very bad thing. While it is treatable if you get vaccinated within a day or two of being exposed to the virus, your chances of survival plummet shortly thereafter; they’re next to nothing if you begin showing symptoms. Prior to 2004, symptomatic rabies was a death sentence.

Reynolds was treated with the Milwaukee protocol, devoloped in 2004 to treat 14-year-old Jeanna Giese. Giese had been bitten by a rabid bat at church, and began showing symptoms a month later. The Milwaukee protocol essentially consists of putting the patient in a medically-induced coma to reduce brain activity and buy the body’s immune system enough time to kill the virus before it can disrupt essential neurological functions.

While skeptics have been quick to dismiss previous survivors as not actually having the live virus in their bodies, such is not the case with Reynolds. She tested positive for rabies multiple times while she was being hospitalized at UC Davis - and for her, the protocol worked.

There are some conflicting numbers as to how many people have been treated with the Milwaukee protocol; some sources cite 35 patients treated, with 4 survivors. Others suggest an overall 8% survival rate. Sometimes, patients survive the most critical and trying phases of treatment only to perish during rehabilitation from complications.

Fortunately, Reynolds is recovering with great haste and very few lasting effects. Jeanna Giese still speaks with a slight speech impediment and has difficulty running years after her remarkable recovery, but graduated with a degree in Biology in May. [If you’re curious, she has a YouTube channel where she talks about her experience and fields questions from the peanut gallery - check it out here.]

Sacramento’s KCRA News has a video of Reynolds in physical therapy on their site.

Remember - if you are bitten by a strange animal or one that you believe is behaving oddly, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention as soon as possible.