Current:Home > NewsMontana man mauled by a grizzly bear gets to go home after five weeks in the hospital. -TradeSphere
Montana man mauled by a grizzly bear gets to go home after five weeks in the hospital.
View
Date:2025-04-17 02:23:14
A hunter who was attacked by a grizzly bear in Montana's Custer Gallatin National Forest will go home after five weeks in the hospital where he received jaw reconstruction surgery, in addition to other procedures, the hunter, his family and doctors said at a news conference.
Rudy Noorlander, 61, was tracking deer with a group of people on Sept. 8, near Yellow Mule Trail about 50 miles southwest of Bozeman, Montana, when a grizzly bear attacked him. According to the Associated Press, the grizzly bear bit off part of his jaw.
First responders arrived in a helicopter and transferred him to a nearby hospital in Bozeman, Montana. After emergency surgery, he moved to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City.
Noorlander's daughter, Katelynn Davis, spoke for him at a University of Utah Hospital news conference. According to Davis, Noorlander was prepared with a gun and bear spray but needed more time to stop the bear from attacking.
She explained that the only thing that helped Noorlander was that he was with a group that could scare the grizzly bear away.
Recent bear attack:73-year-old woman attacked by bear near US-Canada border, officials say; park site closed
Jaw reconstruction surgery
Dr. Hillary McCrary, a surgeon at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital in Utah, was present for the news conference. She explained that because his lower jaw and larynx sustained several injuries in the attack, Noorlander underwent many surgeries to correct his jaw, including a reconstruction surgery.
"We took a portion of his fibula bone and some of his skin with an artery and a vein and hooked that to an artery and a vein in the neck," said Dr. McCrary." And then my partner Dr. Cannon took some of the skin's soft tissue and transplanted that to the head and neck to reconstruct his lower lip."
Dr. Mccrary commended Noorlander on his optimism through his surgeries and recovery journey, noting that Noorlander wants to fight through his recovery.
Plans for the future
Noorlander will be able to speak again; however, because of the intensive surgery and trauma to the area around his vocal folds, there is no specific timeline for when Noorlander will fully talk again, according to Dr.McCarthy.
During the news conference, Noorlander answered questions by writing on a whiteboard. Davis was present at the press conference to speak on his behalf.
"The things that give him hope and motivation to get through this is family and life," said Davis. "My job proves that most people are good, and I can't wait to get back to it and win round two."
According to Davis, Noorlander plans to return to work and where the attack happened. It was not his first encounter with a bear; he had been walking the trail years before the attack.
Davis explained that her father would like to write a book one day and jokingly admits that he would like Cole Hauser from the hit TV show "Yellowstone" to play him in a movie.
"Only by the hands of God am I here; I've had a lot of inspirations, and I felt the need to share my story with others," said Noorlander. "Believe it or not, I believe this attack answered my prayers. And, potentially, it can help someone from going through something similar."
veryGood! (2382)
Related
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Toyota RAV4 Hybrid vs. RAV4 Prime: How to find the right compact SUV for you
- The Best Baby Sprinkle Gifts to Welcome the Newest Member of the Crew
- Arizona police officer killed, another injured in shooting at Gila River Indian Community
- North Carolina trustees approve Bill Belichick’s deal ahead of introductory news conference
- Few kids are sports prodigies like Andre Agassi, but sometimes we treat them as such
- Yemen's Houthis threaten escalation after American strike using 5,000-pound bunker-buster bomb
- Remembering D-Day: Key facts and figures about the invasion that changed the course of World War II
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- Dozens more former youth inmates sue over alleged sexual abuse at Illinois detention centers
Ranking
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- Douglas Brinkley and the lesson of Trump's guilty verdict
- Taylor Swift performs 'The Prophecy' from 'Tortured Poets' for first time in France: Watch
- Tiny fern breaks world record for largest genome on Earth — with DNA stretching taller than the Statue of Liberty
- Selena Gomez's "Weird Uncles" Steve Martin and Martin Short React to Her Engagement
- Mental health is another battlefront for Ukrainians in Russian war
- Garry Conille arrives in Haiti to take up the post of prime minister
- More women made the list of top paid CEOs in 2023, but their numbers are still small compared to men
Recommendation
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Powerball winning numbers for June 1 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $171 million
How AP and Equilar calculated CEO pay
Shooting at South Carolina block party leaves 2 dead, 2 wounded, police say
Newly elected West Virginia lawmaker arrested and accused of making terroristic threats
Swimmer injured by shark attack on Southern California coast
'Where the chicken at?' Chipotle responds to social media claims about smaller portions
Strong earthquakes shake area near Japanese region hit by Jan. 1 fatal disaster, but no tsunami