Now in her second year of preschool, it's hard to believe that just two years ago, this little brown-eyed firecracker suffered severe head and internal injuries when a 940-pound boulder landed on top of her.

The incident happened near Rhinelander in August of 2004, when her dad, Bruce, was helping his brother with some excavating on his land in Hiles, while keeping an eye on Emily, then age 2, and her brother Austin, 8.

Emily started walking up a hill when out of nowhere, a boulder loosened from the top of the hill and started rolling down toward her. Despite warning calls, Emily was unable to get out of the way. "The rock left only her hand and foot showing, but luckily, her uncle and cousin were able to find the strength to lift the boulder off her," said her dad. He held her in his arms until an ambulance arrived to take her to Saint Mary's Hospital in Rhinelander. "There had to be an intercept on her way from Rhinelander where she stopped breathing four times," said Bruce. From there, she was flown by the Spirit Medical Transportation helicopter to the Trauma Center at Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital in Marshfield.

The back of Emily's skull had been crushed and part of her brain stem was punctured with severe bleeding in her brain. She had fluid in her stomach and a broken left arm. "Emily had to have exploratory stomach surgery to ensure there wasn't fluid in the abdomen. Immediately after that she had surgery to repair her crushed skull. They had to remove parts of the crushed skull to repair it and then put it back into place," said Bruce.

Because of the severity of her injuries, Dr. Gail Magid, Marshfield Clinic neurosurgeon on staff at Saint Joseph's Hospital, performed a craniotomy. "Dr. Magid is a big hero in Emily's life. He is an amazing person and will always touch our hearts every time we look at our daughter," shared Emily's mom, Cindy. "He has blessed her with his skill and belief in her."

The next few days were devastating. Emily remained in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, under the care of many specialists, including Pediatric Intensivists Dr. Edward Fernandez and Dr. Todd Stewart. She was in a coma for 18 days, was swollen to twice her size and was unrecognizable. Emily's parents bore heartbreak after heartbreak as her head filled up with fluid, not once, but twice. "Doctor's were not even sure if it was possible for her to breathe on her own," said Cindy, "but she came off the respirator just fine; it was the first smile we had in weeks."

Despite this small victory, Bruce and Cindy were told that their daughter had a long way to go. Even so, they treated Emily as if she were awake by reading her books, taking her outside for walks and talking with her. Miraculously, one day she opened her mouth. "We ran to get her neurologist, Dr. Monica Koehn," exclaimed Cindy. "Dr. Koehn smiled and said, 'she's in there, she's awake'." That day, the Konkle's got to hold their daughter for the first time in two weeks!

Little by little things began to turn around. Doctors had told Emily's parents that they were uncertain what would happen to her mental state and her cognitive abilities. But, now she was responding with head nods 'yes' or 'no' and soon her first words were "mommy," "dad" and "Austin." "It was like she had just been born. Her color was back, along with her spirit," said her mom.

Days turned into weeks as she re-learned to do everything. Physical, occupational and speech therapy were needed three times a day. "Emily had five amazing therapists and soon she was walking, talking and playing," said Cindy. "I'll never forget the day she was getting therapy - the doctors had tears in their eyes as they watched her reach for a toy!"

Although she still has some minor complications from her incident, today Emily's spirit is alive and well. "To see this amazing little girl today is by the grace of God and the greatest doctors and staff at Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital," said Cindy. "We do believe that Emily's recovery of her very severe injuries and our recovery is all part of Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital."

"The quality of medical and nursing care at Saint Joseph's Hospital is so outstanding that surely this is the way Emily became as she is today, said Dr. Magid. "Her recovery is due 125 percent to the constant, unceasing efforts of the Saint Joseph's Children's Hospital team."