ASPEN, Colo.—A woman who was slashed across the face by a hungry bear that broke into her kitchen says she is doing better and plans to be back at work Monday.
“I’m awesome, actually,” radiologist Judy Garrison said Friday. “I just got back from town, where I had a huge chocolate ice cream cone. That’s how you know I’m feeling better.”
Garrison, 57, awoke early Wednesday to strange sounds in her condo. When she went to investigate, she startled a bear that entered her home through an unlocked sliding door.
Garrison said she didn’t have time to be scared. “He struck me before I even saw him,” she said.
She needed 80 stitches and reconstructive surgery after the bear swiped her across the right side of her face, leaving her with cuts down to the bone. The bear then fled.
“My plastic surgeon doesn’t stress enough how fortunate I am to still have my right eye,” Garrison said.
She said she holds no grudge against the bear, despite her injuries.
“It wasn’t like he purposely attacked me. I surprised him as much as he surprised me,” she said.
Colorado Division of Wildlife officials plan to kill the bear if it returns because it could hurt other people.
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Information from: Aspen Daily News,
