Purdue junior forward Drey Mingo has a lot to the thankful for. Not only did her Purdue squad get a berth into the NCAA tournament but the Boilermakers will play Sunday's first-round game against Kansas State in the state where several aunts and cousins live. However, more than anything, she is happy to be alive.

Two days after having 21 points and 13 rebounds in a game against DePaul, Mingo was found laying on the floor unconscious and her life hanging in the balance.

Meningitis led to inflammed membranes near her spine and brain which can be a fatal combination. For five days Mingo was in the hospital surrounded by her teammates, coaches and family members not sure if she would wake up. The mere thought that she would play basketball again - especially this season - seemed to be a preposterous notion.

Yet she did return. Mingo missed just four games and after struggling with not only her physical conditioning but the loss of her hearing, Mingo is once again a dominant inside presence for the Boilermakers. She averaged 15.8 points in the final six regular-season games as Purdue made a late-season push at securing a spot in the NCAA tournament.

"Everything happened so suddenly, it was so unexpected but everything has happened for a reason and it definitely has made me the person I am today so I am very thankful for my life and to be here," Mingo said on Friday, shortly before boarding a plane headed to Connecticut for the Storrs subregional.

"It is definitely a life-changing experience waking up with no sound but gradually my hearing has gotten better which they did not think would happen so it is awesome for me. Really, considering how sick I was, I am really happy just to be living. Yes, my life has to change but I have amazing support here and everybody here has helped me every step of the way."

What a journey it has been.

From the bedside vigil at the hospital to the flood of letters and flowers from well wishers from across the country and the emotional scene when she played two minutes in a game against Auburn less than four weeks after being hospitalized, it has been a remarkable odyssey.

"Everything about it says 'miracle,'" said Antionette Howard, one of Mingo's roommates and a close friend of Mingo's for more than a decade going back to their days growing up in Georgia. "For her to be able to survive the situation she was in and then to be able to play again, that was a miracle in of itself. Then to recover as well as she has and be able to impact our team and the game of basketball this year is just tremendous, it is amazing.

"I read stories immediately after and said 'OK, there are different stories to it, different ways that people recover or some people don't recover at all so basketball for me wasn't even on my mind at all. For her to come back like this is amazing."

Mingo, who aspires to enter medical school after graduation, also did some research on meningitis. However, that occured before she incurred the wrath of meningitis.

"I was taking an anatomy class and had an exam on meningitis the week before I got sick," Mingo said. "Once the doctors told me what I had, I kind of knew what what was going on and what to expect from then on. It is really ironic. Literally the doctors were telling me things that where on my exam that I had taken a week before so it was like a cringing feeling knowing what I had and what to expect but it was also a comforting feeling that I did know what it was and what to expect."

Mingo said playing basketball again did not enter her mind immediately after she was informed of what happened to her. When she had her hearing checked, she had 5 percent of her hearing in her left ear and just 20 percent in her right. Making matter worse is that the doctor said there was little hope for her hearing to improve.

"Obviously she was very upset, she looked at me crying and said 'Coach, am I ever going to be able to play basketball again,'" Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said. "That was one of the hardest moments. I looked her in the eye and I said 'I am not sure about this year Drey but you'll be able to play when your body allows you to play. This is about you as a human being just getting better. You are going to be fulfill all of your dreams, this is a bump in the road.' She has just continued to amaze us. Two weeks after they said she pretty much wouldn't have any hearing she went back and had a hearing test and had 11 percent in her left ear and went up to 60 percent in her right ear. The ear/nose specialist said this is an act of God. He was shocked."

It was not the last time Mingo would stun onlookers.

It seemed unlikely that Mingo would play again this year but not only has she returned, she averaged 15.8 points in the final six games of the regular season.

"I hear stories all the time of people who had the same thing I have and didn't have a great outcome and I am very thankful for mine," Mingo said. "I am really just happy to be living and basketball is just a plus."

It wasn't until early February when Mingo said she felt like herself again on the basketball court.

"Februaryish I was hitting my groove and feeling like myself," Mingo said. "All my doctor appointments had been finished," Mingo said. "I thought I was back to myself by early February.

"It is definitely a life-changing experience waking up with no sound but gradually my hearing has gotten better which they did not think would happen so it is awesome for me. Really, considering how sick I was, I am really happy just to be living. Yes, my life has to change but I have amazing support here and everybody here has helped me every step of the way."

Obviously the support has come from her family in her hometown of Atlanta as well as her aunts and cousins who live in New Haven as well as from the Purdue community but she has received letters and encouragement from all across the country.

"I was really shocked and kept her and her family in my prayers when I found out she was so sick," said UConn's Maya Moore, who played her high school ball in Georgia at the same time as Mingo. "I’m amazed at how well she has bounced back and has played a big part on her team’s success. It’s just a great success story and I am really excited for her."

Mingo feels blessed to be on the receiving end of well wishing from Moore and so many others.

"It's been amazing," Mingo said. "Before I ever got out of the hospital I had notes and cards, get well letter and flowers. People I don't now continue to come up to me to this day and tell me they are praying for me and pulling for me. People across the country I have known all my life have (given her) unbelievable support but definitely the Purdue family here has been absolutely special willing me back to playing and back to being myself."

The Purdue/Kansas State game will begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the 12:05 p.m. game between UConn and Hartford on Sunday.