Post by Woody Williams on Sept 20, 2005 17:09:48 GMT -5
PUBLICATION: National Post
DATE: 2005.09.20
EDITION: Toronto / Late
SECTION: Canada
PAGE: A8
BYLINE: Neal Hall
SOURCE: CanWest News Service
DATELINE: VANCOUVER
WORD COUNT: 237
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Bear attack: 'Aw crap, I'm going to die': B.C. boy suffers leg, skull fractures on family ranch
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VANCOUVER - When a big grizzly bear came out of the bush and grabbed 13-year-old Christopher Solecki by the leg last week, he had just one thought: ''Aw crap, I'm going to die.''
''It was really scary,'' he said yesterday at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver, speaking publicly for the first time about the bear attack on his family's ranch, which is about 30 kilometres south of the town of Burns Lake in the central interior of B.C.
''He got my leg in his mouth and shook me around a bit,'' Christopher recalled.
''I remember the dog barking and the bear running off,'' the teen added. ''I was worried about the bear coming back.''
It happened so quickly, he doesn't remember feeling anything.
''Ten seconds and it was over,'' he explained. ''There was blood all over.''
Christopher and his 15-year-old brother, Matthew, had gone for a hike last Monday with their dog, Snowpup, who was running in front of them.
Suddenly, they saw the dog running the other way, with the grizzly on its tail. The bear came out of the bush, knocking down nearby poplar saplings, and grabbed Christopher, shaking him.
''I said, 'Matt, run.' Matt got away and did a good thing -- he got help.''
Matt yelled for his father, who was working nearby.
Jon Solecki found his son conscious on the ground but bleedly profusely from the head.
A helicopter airlifted Christopher to hospital in Burns Lake. He was transferred by air to Children's Hospital in Vancouver where underwent seven hours of surgery to repair the fractured femur of his leg and a depressed skull fracture. He now has 28 staples on his scalp.
''There were four spots where the skull was torn,'' explained Dr. Ash Singhal, a neurosurgeon who operated on the teen.
Christopher will require more brain surgery in six months, Dr. Singhal said.
DATE: 2005.09.20
EDITION: Toronto / Late
SECTION: Canada
PAGE: A8
BYLINE: Neal Hall
SOURCE: CanWest News Service
DATELINE: VANCOUVER
WORD COUNT: 237
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Bear attack: 'Aw crap, I'm going to die': B.C. boy suffers leg, skull fractures on family ranch
----------------------------------------------------
VANCOUVER - When a big grizzly bear came out of the bush and grabbed 13-year-old Christopher Solecki by the leg last week, he had just one thought: ''Aw crap, I'm going to die.''
''It was really scary,'' he said yesterday at B.C. Children's Hospital in Vancouver, speaking publicly for the first time about the bear attack on his family's ranch, which is about 30 kilometres south of the town of Burns Lake in the central interior of B.C.
''He got my leg in his mouth and shook me around a bit,'' Christopher recalled.
''I remember the dog barking and the bear running off,'' the teen added. ''I was worried about the bear coming back.''
It happened so quickly, he doesn't remember feeling anything.
''Ten seconds and it was over,'' he explained. ''There was blood all over.''
Christopher and his 15-year-old brother, Matthew, had gone for a hike last Monday with their dog, Snowpup, who was running in front of them.
Suddenly, they saw the dog running the other way, with the grizzly on its tail. The bear came out of the bush, knocking down nearby poplar saplings, and grabbed Christopher, shaking him.
''I said, 'Matt, run.' Matt got away and did a good thing -- he got help.''
Matt yelled for his father, who was working nearby.
Jon Solecki found his son conscious on the ground but bleedly profusely from the head.
A helicopter airlifted Christopher to hospital in Burns Lake. He was transferred by air to Children's Hospital in Vancouver where underwent seven hours of surgery to repair the fractured femur of his leg and a depressed skull fracture. He now has 28 staples on his scalp.
''There were four spots where the skull was torn,'' explained Dr. Ash Singhal, a neurosurgeon who operated on the teen.
Christopher will require more brain surgery in six months, Dr. Singhal said.
