ATHENS, Ga. — A Georgia police sergeant is back on the job six years after being stabbed, almost fatally, six years ago.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/11nRWev) that police Sgt. Courtney Gale was sworn in again to the Athens-Clarke County Police Department this week.

Gale was working as a uniformed security guard at a supermarket when a man attacked her with a large kitchen knife. Gale was stabbed 12 times and authorities said she may have bled to death if a nurse who was shopping hadn't been nearby and helped to stop the bleeding. Gale's femoral artery was severed in the attack and she spent two weeks in a coma.

During her recovery, Gale earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Georgia and eventually started working out four times a day. She said her return is "a dream come true,"