By all reaches of the imagination, Gary Natvig, a 56-year-old resident of Waukesha, is lucky to be alive. On May 28, 2005, Natvig was traveling with his son and two others to his niece's high school graduation. All four were on separate motorcycles, and the trip was going smoothly, until disaster struck. All Gary remembers of the incident is that he woke up at Saint Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, and didn't know why he was there, or how he got there.

Traveling through Clark County, south of Neillsville on highway 73, Natvig had lost consciousness while driving his motorcycle, causing him to veer off the highway and crash. He suffered traumatic injuries, including a broken back in three places, a ruptured spleen (which was removed), a lacerated liver, collapsed lungs, nine broken ribs, and three different brain injuries (he was not wearing a helmet), and his cycle was totaled. He was taken first to Memorial Medical Center in Neillsville, and then immediately rushed in a Flight for Life helicopter to Saint Joseph's Hospital for emergency trauma care. He was placed in an induced coma, and Natvig's son was told that there was a chance Gary might not survive his injuries. "They didn't know what the final damage would be – I could become a vegetable, or wind up living in a nursing home the rest of my life," said Natvig. "So I guess I fooled everybody."

Eight weeks later, on July 23, Natvig was released from Saint Joseph's. Five months after his accident, he was back to work. Natvig admits he still feels pain, especially in his back, where a rod was placed to fuse together broken vertebrae. But it's a small price to pay considering the original extent of his injuries.

"I had a tremendous experience during rehabilitation at Saint Joseph's, and there are a lot of people that cared for me; so many that I can't remember all of their names," said Natvig. "I went through all types of rehabilitation – speech therapy, occupational therapy, and physical therapy." He said that they would wheel him to his rehabilitation appointments, but once they found out he was able to walk, they assisted him with his daily journey, which strengthened his legs. He said the attention given to him by the staff was heartfelt. "There was one nurse in particular that I do remember, because she really got to know me well. She encouraged me to keep fighting to get better. All of the people there were tremendous."

Natvig is still not sure why the accident occurred. "It wasn't really discovered why I passed out on the cycle," he said. He said that he's not afraid to get on a motorcycle, but after the accident, he's no longer able to handle it physically. "My bike weighed 780 pounds, and I don't think I'll ever develop enough upper body strength to be able to maneuver it around. So I think my biking days are over," he added with a chuckle.

On October 31, Natvig went back to work, half days, to his job as an electrician at GE Healthcare in Waukesha. He then was back to working full time by January 3, 2006. Asked how work was going, he replied, "Excellent."