Laurel Rose Von Hoffmann.Photo: KYMA News
Laurel-Rose Von Hoffmann-Curzi, who has stage 4 lymphoma, survived the mauling on Saturday, requiring emergency surgery for injuries sustained in her face, arms, chest and back,according to SFGate. She went to the cabin’s kitchen to check out noises at about 5:30 a.m. when she was shocked to find a wild black bear rummaging for food before turning to attack her.
“The next thing I knew, I saw the big paw and nothing else. I was just being torn out,” she told SFGate, noting that their cabin is “meticulously set up to prevent bears,” though she thinks it might have smelled avocados sitting on the counter.
Laurel Rose Von Hoffmann.KYMA News
Hoffmann-Curzitold KPIXmore of the mauling: “I could see the freezer door half open, and food just goingwhoosh, whoosh, and it was like in an instant, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a bear!’ The next thing that happens is that I’m being torn apart. … I’m screaming the whole time. Screaming at the top of my lungs.”
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Her husband and son woke up and came to her aid, scaring off the bear.
“I really, truly should be dead,” Hoffmann-Curzi told SFGate, attributing her survival to “dumb luck.”
“The scary part is [the bear] will do it again. And he’ll come to our house again because he knows there’s food in it. This is a dangerous bear,” she told the outlet, adding, “I love wildlife. I love bears. But there are bad bears, just like there are bad people. And bad bears need to be relocated. They need to be taken away.”
Additionally, Hoffmann-Curzi said to KPIX, “I am so incredibly lucky to be alive. I mean, no question.”
source: people.com
