On October 30, Laurel-Rose von Hoffmann-Curzi, 66, had just laid down in a cabin on Lake Tahoe, California.
The retired doctor has the cancer Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which according to Lommelegen is a type of cancer with large and uncontrolled growth of lymph cells.
To prevent her from being infected with corona, she and her family have lived in the secluded cabin during the pandemic.
Now the 66-year-old has left the cabin – and with good reason.
It reports CNN.
Scandal pictures from gyms leaked online
Thought the son made sound
Hoffmann-Curzi tells the website that she woke up to thumping noises in the kitchen downstairs.
She was sure it was her son who stopped by, but not then.
Hoffmann-Curzi went down to the kitchen – and was greeted by a large black bear.
NOT GRACEFUL: A black bear photographed on Lake Tahoe, California, not far from the site Laurel-Rose von Hoffmann-Curzi was attacked. Photo: AP
view more
The black bear is according to Large Norwegian encyclopedia between 130 and 180 centimeters, and the males can weigh up to 95 kilos, while the males can be as much as 270 kilos.
The bear that suddenly appeared in the 66-year-old’s kitchen had scoured the freezer and thrown the food on the floor.
– When I realized that it was a bear, he realized that I was a human. He came running towards me, she tells the website.
Hoffmann-Curzi froze to ice.
– I remember seeing his big paw on the right side of his face, but I do not remember anything more. Then I began to feel that my body was being torn apart, she says, and continues:
– I screamed and screamed and screamed.
Insider writes that the screams woke her husband and son.
view more
–
Thrown bathrobe on the bear
The American says that she finally managed to throw a bathrobe and a blanket on the bear’s head, and that her husband and son came running to the kitchen.
Then the bear ran towards the door, turned its head and gave the family one last look – and ran out of the cabin.
– It felt like I was bleeding. My face had been torn up terribly, she tells Insider.
With multiple bruises on her face, bite injuries and tears on her neck, arms, back and chest, and with stab wounds to her stomach, she was rushed to hospital.
IDYLLIC, BUT …: Many black bears live in the woods around Lake Tahoe, California, and there are between 25,000 and 35,000 black bears in the state. Photo: AP
view more
Super smart bears
The 66-year-old, who is from Orinda in California, tells the local channel KTVU that she has seen bears around the cabin before.
This is the reason why the family has its own “bear box” outside the house, which hides rubbish and food from the hungry bears.
Hoffmann-Curzi says that the cabin was not locked when the bear entered, probably looking for some avocados lying on the kitchen counter.
She believes that the bear opened the door with its paws and went straight in and supplied itself with the avocados.
– The bears are super smart, she says.
Six children poisoned by birthday cake
Will take the bear
She further says that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Service (CDFW), which manages plant and animal life in the United States, quickly came to the site to take DNA samples from the avocados.
They then set up a bear trap to catch the perpetrator if it returns.
Patrick Foy of CDFW confirms the incident to SFGate.
– We try to get to the victim as soon as possible, before the doctors clean the wounds. Our goal is to take samples of the bite injuries or chlorine marks to identify microscopic DNA traces from the animal in question. It helps us identify and remove the aggressive animal, he says.
Lucky to be alive
Until the bear is taken, Laurel-Rose von Hoffmann-Curzi and her family will not go to the cabin again.
The 66-year-old is on the road to recovery after the attack, but it has put a big dent in the cancerous body.
– I am lucky to be alive, she says to the local channel KPIX-TV.
–
