It was the day after Thanksgiving, 2003, that Jim Bates almost died.

He was driving a new car when he collided head-on with a truck.

After horrendous suffering, including numerous surgeries and years of painful recovery, Bates has proven that miracles can occur — not just once but numerous times. His outlook is another miracle, where dreams for the future show that life has endless potential, and that no matter how bad things are they can get better and be better than they might have ever been in the past.

"Now I'm back in school, I have a family and starting to get back to ... normal I guess you could call it," Bates said. "Everything in life that you go through makes you the person that you are. Things would be a whole lot different in my life if I hadn't gone through the accident. I'm just grateful for the way things are, and that they are as good as they are."

Bates, then 23, had no idea what was in store when he started driving home from getting a haircut at the Regis Salon in Beaver Dam Mall. He and his girlfriend Tonja (now his wife) were driving back to Randolph, where Jim lived with his parents while he attempted to sort out a path for the future. At 6-feet, 5 inches he had been a star Rockets basketball team member. He got a basketball scholarship, but wasn't into the whole school thing. After a trip to Washington state and a job as a roofer, he was trying to find a new career path.

When he approached the intersection of Sunset Bay Road on Highway 33, a 16-year-old driver going too fast for the slippery conditions slid into his traffic lane.

"The driver lost control of his truck and crossed the center line," Bates said, citing a police report for details that he can't recall. "The collision was offset so it was head-on with the my side of the car," Bates said. "My girlfriend was on the passenger side and was treated and released. I was Med-Flighted to Madison and went into emergency 10-hour heart surgery to fix a torn aorta. I spent a little over two months in a coma."

Jim suffered a second-degree head injury, both his lungs were collapsed, his kidneys and liver were lacerated and his left femur was crushed (an 11-inch plate was installed to help to fix it).

Bates doesn't remember much of his initial treatment.

His stay at the hospital lasted four months and he spent the better part of a year re-learning the simplest tasks.

"It was hell," Bates said. "I had to learn to walk, talk, eat — all that again. Pain is something I've had to get used to. I spent four years in physical therapy to get to where I am today. Now I can no longer run. I can no longer jump. I can walk but slowly and very wobbly. Now that I've plateaued I'm dealing with the residual stuff and getting surgeries for that. I've had two knee surgeries now I'm gonna have two ankle surgeries and I'm going to have another leg surgery."

Despite the trials, his progress has been phenomenal. Tonja has been an ardent supporter.

"We had dated for about five years before the accident," Jim said. "When I came-to from the coma I saw her standing over the bed. I knew that if she had stuck with me through all of that that she was the one."

The two were married on Jim's birthday (July 29, 2006) at an outdoor wedding in Washington state, where Jim was born and many family members still reside.

The romantic notion has a more practical side as well.

"I knew that I'd be able to remember it," Jim said. "That was the biggest reason. Because of the injuries I have a terrible memory."

Because of his injuries and all of the medical imaging required for treatment, doctors predicted he would be unable to father a child. That too has astounded friends and family, and he is now the dad of an 7-month-old baby girl — Kaylee Danielle.

Recovery is ongoing, with nerve damage (neuropathy) an ongoing healing process.

"I wouldn't say I'm glad I went through it, but I learned a lot. I know what priorities mean and what's important in life and what's not important and not to stress over the stupid little things. It just ain't worth it in the long run. Missing a car payment when you're lying like that doesn't matter a whole lot."

They reside in Waupun. Tonja works at Walgreen's in Watertown and hopes to obtain a managerial position.