Bear Attack!
September 16, 2003
9:20 p.m. Phone call from Debby looking
for the extra cooler for her party on Saturday. We are just chatting while
I wait for Jessica’s phone call letting me know she needs to be
picked up from the Volleyball game in Two Harbors. I open a new bottle
of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay and pour myself a glass.
9:30 p.m. I decide to put the cooler into
my Jeep so that I don’t forget. I close the door to the house leading
into the lock-out (so that the cats would not follow me). I seldom turn
the lights on so all is dark. I am carrying the cordless phone and talking.
As I open the door leading from the walk-out into the garage, here is
what I see and my reactions:
 The
first thing I see is the silhouette of one of the bear cubs running along
side the passenger side of my Jeep Grand Cherokee. I hear the roar of
the mother bear as she lifts her head from inside of the red garbage can
filled with bird seed sitting directly in front of me to my right on the
garage floor. She stands on her hind legs and backs into my Jeep. Suddenly,
she is standing in front of me. I can feel her breath. She is taller than
I am. I immediately attempt to close the door. She pushes against the
door, charges in, and lunges for me. She wraps her arms around me. She
has pinned my arms. We fall to the floor and the phone has been knocked
out of my hand and I hear it roll away. The lock-out is approximately
6'x6'. It seems so small yet there is room for both of us. She immediately
starts to bite my head. I close my eyes and I feel her graze my cheek
and my eyelid. I can feel the sharpness of her teeth and the weight of
her. I can feel the coarse fur on her back. I can hear myself screaming
with panic and I hear her roar/groan. Suddenly I hear Debby on the phone.
” Kimmy, Kim!” I remember thinking, “I’ve got
to let her know it’s just a bear.” I twist my head back towards
the phone and yell to the phone, “It’s just a bear, it’s
just a bear”. My attention snaps back to the mother bear as she
vomits on my shoulder and continues to maul me. We continue to twist on
the floor. Her weight is shifting. She bites my back and her claws go
into my buttocks. She is still upset. We continue to twist. I remember
my grandfather Bert telling us as children that Black Bears are more afraid
of you than you are of them. He’s right. I need to get her off of
me. As long as the door (to the garage) does not close, as long as I can
get her off of me - she will run. Now I consciously twist away from her.
I am really pissed off now. She has sunk her teeth into the outside of
my right thigh. I keep twisting. Almost there. She has sunk her teeth
into the inside of my left thigh. I remember thinking, “That’s
enough” “ You are DONE hurting me and biting me and scratching
me!” “ You are going to get the f@#$ off of me right now.”
I maneuver my right knee up between us and lift her up off of me. My arms
are free. I grab her muzzle and shut her mouth. I will not allow her to
bite me anymore. I whip her head back and forth, back and forth and scream,
“Get out! Get out! Get the hell out of my house!” Her whole
body goes still. She puts her right paw on my left breast and lifts herself.
She runs out of the garage. I close the door and lean heavily against
it. I’m alive.
9:43 p.m. My head is dripping with blood
but I am back in my kitchen. I slam ½ of my wine. “Calm down,
Kim. Think.” I call 911 emergency. I hang up before they answer.
Jessi. I need to find a ride for her. I remember thinking that I need
to take care of her first and then I can concentrate on me. I dial Scott’s
cell. It only rings into his voicemail. I hang up. I call Betty Nelson
(Jessica’s paternal grandmother). “Betty, I’m sorry
to call so late. I’ve just been attacked by a bear in my house.
Jessi is on the bus on her way back from Two Harbors. She will be at the
school between 10:15-10:30. Can you pick her up? She can stay at your
house. I will get clothes to her in the morning.” Betty replies,”Oh,
sure”. Thank God! I hang up. 911 emergency calls back and confirms
the address. “I’ve just been attacked by a bear.” “Do
you need an ambulance?” Yes, I think so. My head is bleeding a lot.
They are on the way.
I do not know the timing of the rest.
 After
hanging up the phone with the operator and then with Debby, I realize
that I need to clean up. The blood on my forehead is still pouring out
of my head and I can’t see. It’s sticky. I walk into Jessica’s
bath and attempt to clean up my face. There is blood all over the floor.
I can’t let Jessi see this mess. I pull several towels out of the
cabinet and clean the bathroom floor. I walk back into the kitchen. I
notice the blood all over the kitchen floor. I grab the mop from the closet
and begin to clean up the kitchen floor. Leif Lundie arrives from the
Sheriffs Department. He walks into the family room through the side door.
He wants me to put the mop down and sit down. “Kim, I need you to
sit down.” “I can’t, I have to think” Obviously,
I’m in shock. Scott calls. I can’t relate the story just yet.
I hand the phone to Leif, he explains the situation and tells Scott that
the ambulance is on its way and he should meet us at the emergency room.
Th ambulance arrives. They want me to sit down on the carpeting in the
living room so they can look at the wounds. Are you nuts? Did you not
see the carpet in the hallway? I’ll never get the stains out. I
sit down on this tile kitchen floor. Claudia (EMT) calls for the scissors.
They are going to cut off my pants. OMG. I stand up and I take my own
pants off. Claudia and Augo look at the bite/maul wounds and clean up
some of the blood. Augo wants me to get on the stretcher. I protest. I
can walk. I remember him looking at me and sternly telling me to get on
the stretcher. Some of the bite/maul wounds are quite deep and too close
to arteries.
I knew it was bad when I saw Scott’s face as they were hauling
me out of the ambulance and into the emergency room. 2 ½ hours
of surgery. 28 stitches (16 of which were puncture wounds).
I knew everything was okay when Jessi walked into the ER and I held her
hand. She watched Dr. David Jordy stitch me up. She thought it was “cool”.
Little does she know.
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