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One cold, drizzly morning in December, I was driving to my hometown in Illinois to visit family. While traveling about 60 mph on a desolate stretch of two-lane highway between towns, I saw a small white kitten appear from underneath the car directly in front of my car.

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / ALEXA

There was no time for me to react. I saw the fear in the kitten's eyes just before my car straddled her. I felt sick, but to make matters worse, there was yet another car immediately behind me that also passed over the kitten.

I immediately pulled over and saw in my rear view mirror the kitten was lying motionless in the middle of the road. I didn't know if it was my car or the car behind me that had injured her, and I felt horrible.

CAT. PHOTO: PIXABAY / Михаил Прокопенко

I safely exited my car on the now-deserted stretch of road and ran to move the poor kitten to the shoulder. I could see she was bleeding badly from the top of the head. Things did not look good. I thought I would stay with her until she passed, as a measure of respect.

But the kitten began standing up and staggering around, clearly in shock. I simply couldn't leave her there, so I wrapped her tightly in my fleece jacket and held her as I drove 40 minutes to the veterinarian in my hometown, who was also a family friend. The vet treated her and gave odds of a 50/50 chance of survival: she had a fractured skull and was dehydrated with near hypothermia.

PHOTO: SARA FROM ST. LOUIS, MO

I decided if she pulled through, I would take her and name her Noelle. Amazingly, she made a complete recovery, with no neurological impairment. Sweet-faced Noelle is a totally healthy, loving and playful cat.

Story submitted by Sara from St. Louis, Missouri.

This story was originally shared on The Animal Rescue Site. Share your very own rescue story here!