COEUR d'ALENE - Life, says Dave Miller, is all about perspective.

He knows.

"We really do have to live a life filled with gratitude," the Coeur d'Alene man said. 'If you don't, you start drifting the other way. You become bitter and angry and nothing goes well. You just need some proper perspective, I think."

A knee to the head, a shattered skull, isn't the easiest way to get it, but the husband and father of four says it will do.

It was May 21, 2007, when Miller was playing in a co-ed recreational soccer game outside Canfield Middle School.

He was the goalie, came out to make the play on a ball, and then, as he says, lights out. What he called a "freak accident" left his skull fractured in 21 places.

The prognosis was grim.

It didn't look like he would survive.

He did.

Doctors believed he would be at Kootenai Medical Center for a few months.

He was there four days.

Care providers thought he would be in St. Luke's Rehabilitation Unit in Spokane from two to six months.

He was there four weeks.

He learned to walk again. He learned to talk again.

Today, the 40-year-old is healthy, strong and smiling. Therapy is done. He and wife Brooke are going on 20 years of marriage. Their three daughters and son are fit and fearless. Brooke is back running Beau Monde Exchange, which marks its 10th anniversary June 1. Dave is working in retirement planning for public employees, is training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June and plans to climb Mt. Rainier in August. He gives speaking engagements about once a month on what happened, his near death, and his journey back.

Yes, he's back.

"At this point and time, I want to challenge myself physically," said the 1988 graduate of Falls Christian Academy.

To put it simply, he's glad to be alive.

"You have to make a decision in your mind you're going to be thankful," he said. "If anything, resolving to live a life of gratitude is probably the biggest change I can take from my accident. I could be dead. I get to see my kids play sports, graduate from high school, get married. Everything I'm living now is a bonus. I'm pretty excited."

How are you feeling these days?

I feel great. I feel totally good. Obviously I don't have any complaints whatsoever. Basically, I feel as strong as I ever have. There are a few little things, but like I said, I have zero complaints.

Do you remember much about the accident?

I don't remember anything. I can piece things together pretty good because of what everyone told me. I met the kid several times that I had the collision with. About six months ago, we went out on the soccer field and I had him walk me through what happened. I felt bad for the kid. He said for a few days he thought he killed a guy. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't eat. I know people that know him, he was just devastated. I tried to make a point to connect with him as much as I could. I let him know, 'Hey, I'm doing good.'

How did he explain the accident?

He said things happened so quickly. As best he can remember, there was a breakaway, so I didn't have any defenders back and it was a pass to him. It looks like I ran out to basically lunge for the ball and as I dove, he was going to strike it, he got the ball with his foot and my head with his knee. I was diving down for it, even though it was recreational league, I'm a decently competitive person.

What was your next memory?

The next memory from the 21st on is really June 1 when I kind of woke up. I remember waking up. I had wires and tubes, everything hooked up to me, I had no idea what happened. First, I thought I must have been in a car wreck. Finally, people kind of told me. I think I had flashes. I could squeeze a hand before that day, but that's really the first day I remember. I remember my wife being there. The weird thing is, I remember a few times her telling me that she and the kids were fine and I should work on getting well. Other than that, no memories.

What was your early prognosis?

The first few days, they didn't think I was going to make it. They definitely were preparing my wife for that because they couldn't stop my brain from swelling.

When they realized I was not going to die, the next step was letting my wife know I could be in a coma for a long time. Then they kind of realized, I'm going to get well, but I'm probably going to have facial paralysis. It kept happening in steps. Each time it was like, they make a statement, preparing my family for what could happen, I'd get past that.

How long was the recovery?

I was in the neuro unit at KMC then I went to St. Luke's in Spokane. Recovery was physical therapy, speech therapy, recreational therapy. I don't know how many therapies I had. It was a lot.

The first six months I was tired all the time. I slept 16 hours a day. I'd be awake for an hour or two and I'd just get exhausted. I'd go to speech therapy and I'd come back and I'd be spent. I'd have to go to bed and lay down.

I was so happy to be alive. I remember doing very simple tasks like walking, and it got to where I could take a couple steps on my own. I remember taking 10 steps and I was so excited I was able to walk 10 steps by myself. I think the recovery was harder on my wife and kids than it was on me. They just had to tell me what to do and I would try to do it. My wife had to deal with the fact that I was in a coma, not knowing if I was coming out, not knowing what our life would be like, not knowing if we had to sell our house, change our life completely, or what.

The recovery was hard, but I was just so thankful I was physically able to do it, so it didn't seem as bad.

What kind of operations did you undergo in the hospital?

The crazy thing, my skull had fractured in so many places, it fractured like an egg. The big problem early on was they couldn't stop my brain from swelling. That was what they were concerned about. But they didn't actually have to do surgery. There was medication to prevent seizure activity. They had to put ice packs under my arms and between my legs and on me because of the pneumonia my temperature was just getting crazy. But then, it would get too cold and I would start shaking, which isn't too good when your head is all messed up. It was this constantly trying to help my body recover and miraculously, I recovered.

Was there a time you felt you were going to make it back and everything would be OK?

Emotionally, there are times you're laying in the hospital bed not knowing if you're going to get up. My faith in God helped me through that. Just knowing that if I don't get up, if my life doesn't change, things are going to be all right. I have to attribute that to my faith. I remember a time when Brooke was pushing me out of St. Luke's in the wheelchair, I couldn't take very many steps on my own. She had to take this class, if I had a seizure or if I fell what to do and all this kind of stuff. She's pushing me in a wheelchair, and I still remember the day like it was yesterday and we passed the edge of the building, kids were playing, and the sun hits me on the face. First time I've been outside since my accident, and it was so warm on my cheek. My wife was behind me, kids are playing, I didn't know, my wife didn't know, how much I would recover. But I remember thinking, 'You know, my life is still pretty good.' I've got this incredible family. God still loves me, things are going to be OK. Obviously, things are way better than OK because I'm totally fine.

How has your life changed since the accident?

When I woke up on June 1, once people told me what was going on, I got a grasp of where I was at and what was happening. I really wanted to communicate a message to people, I couldn't talk, but through sign language and writing things down, I told people that every moment is a gift. I was laying there in that bed, that was my reality. I didn't know if I was going to get up, if that was my life from that day forward. And I want people to know they have to value life, because it can change in an instant. Every day I was in the hospital, as much as I can since that day, I tell people that life is a gift. Tell people you love that you love them. Make sure to tell people how you feel. Appreciate life. Obviously, I have the same issues as everybody else. You have issues with kids and finances and jobs. Life gets busy. I don't do that as much as I would like to, but I constantly remind myself that we're breathing and we're living, we should be pretty thankful. I think my outlook has changed. I considered myself a pretty optimistic and positive person before my accident, but I think it has intensified my desire to communicate that with people.

We get so busy, we don't take time to just appreciate life.

So, do you spend more time with your family?

I definitely try to. Even before that accident, as parents, we get one shot. It goes by so quickly. Try to make sure you don't have regrets when they go to college, get married and start their own life. You don't want to have regrets or saying 'I wish I would have done this with them, I wish I would have spent more time with them, I wish I wouldn't have been so worried about my job or career.' All that stuff just happens. You can't help it from happening. You've got to carve out time as much as you can.

Have you played soccer again?

I did play soccer the next summer in that same league. With four kids, I don't have time for a lot of that, but I wanted to play to prove to myself that I could do it. I don't want the accident to take anything away from me. It was really to a point of playing just for that reason, just to prove to myself it wasn't going to take something from my life.

How did it feel to be out there again?

Fine. I played goalie. I remember the first ball came in and there were people all around, I remember a half-a-second hesitation then, my mind was like, 'Go get it.' Really, that was the last I thought about it because you've got to live life. Stuff happens. This was a freak accident.

Do you speak often about what happened and your recovery?

I try to do once a month. It's something I enjoy because I think it's a message that needs to be told.

What role has your faith played in your recovery?

I believe God performed an incredible miracle on my life. There are numerous doctors that have said to me, 'There is no medical reason to explain why you're like you are.' Unless you knew my story, you'd never know I was in this tragic accident. I wouldn't want to minimize the health care workers at Kootenai and all the people who helped me with therapy, they were phenomenal. The reality is, God did a miracle for me.

What was it like to receive so much support?

We live in a pretty good community, a pretty remarkable community. So many people helped out at my wife's store. That first summer I had people show up and mow my lawn every single week. It was crazy how much people did for us. I still can't believe it. We could easily have lost our home, be financially bankrupt. We could have lost the store. But we're doing good. It's the community we live in. They stepped forward and helped us out big time.

Is there any one message you like to share about what happened and the outcome?

Every moment is a gift. Appreciate life. Live a life filled with gratitude.

Date of birth: July 21, 1970

Education: Northwest College, degree in biblical literature.

Family: Wife Brooke, three daughters, one son

Number of hours on average you work in a week: 45

Number of hours on average you sleep in a night: 7

Hobbies: Love to be outside, camping, coaching sports.

Favorite book: The Bible

Favorite authors: John Grisham and Michael Connelly

Favorite type of music: Top 20s, '80s and '90s

Favorite movie: "Braveheart"

Favorite spectator sport: NFL football

Best advice you ever received: Do everything you can to change the things that are in your control, don't worry about the things out of your control.

Quality you admire most in a person: Integrity

Person who most influenced your life: Jesus Christ

One thing you consider your greatest accomplishment: My family.