This is an amazing story about "courage" and "loyalty".
A 65-year old woman, Nell Hamm, has been credited with saving her husband's life (Jim Hamm - 70) in San Francisco - when a vicious mountain lion pounced on Jim and wrestled him to the ground while they were both hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The mountain lion opened its mouth and put Jim's head between its powerful jaws - and locked down.
"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground", said Nell - later at a hospital where her husband was being treated.
Nell picked up a 4-inch wide log and started to relentlessly beat the mountain lion - but to no avail. While Jim's head was still inside the lion's jaws, he spoke to his wife - telling her he had a pen in his pocket that she can use to poke the lion's eye. Nell reached for the pen and to her surprise, the pen bent after a few jabs into the lion's eye! She then picked up the log again and continued to beat the lion.
Eventually, the lion let go of its powerful jaw-grip on Jim's head. Having tasted blood, the lion stood there and looked at Nell - who was screaming and waving around her log in the lion's direction. The lion then simply walked away - leaving Nell and her badly wounded husband.
The couple would be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary next month in New Zealand and before this horrific incident, neither of them had seen a mountain lion - even though they were both experienced hikers.
Nell strongly encouraged her husband to get up and walk away from the bloody scene. She gathered more logs and branches around them, in case other lions were in the area. They waited until a Park Ranger came around and they were rescued. Game Wardens then closed off the Park and released the hounds to track the lion. They were unsure how long it would take to actually locate the lion, but instead of coming across one lion, they came across two! The pair of lions were spotted not far from the scene of the incident and they were both shot and killed. Their bodies will be flown to a State Forensics Lab in hopes of determining whether any of them were directly responsible for Jim's brutal attack.
Jim has since undergone surgery for multiple lacerations on his head and body. His lips had to also be stitched back together and he has suffered puncture wounds as well as a torn scalp.
If Nell had ran away screaming for her life when the lion attacked her husband, there would have been no way he would have survived - but she stuck by her husband's side and fought hard to save his life. Nell displayed immense "courage" and "loyalty". In an age where marriage is usually short-lived and generally treated as "just something fun to do" (remember Britney Spears and Jason Alexander's 55-hour marriage?), this is a truly wonderful story and really highlights what marriage is supposed to be about.
Here's wishing all the best to Nell and Jim Hamm.
A 65-year old woman, Nell Hamm, has been credited with saving her husband's life (Jim Hamm - 70) in San Francisco - when a vicious mountain lion pounced on Jim and wrestled him to the ground while they were both hiking in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. The mountain lion opened its mouth and put Jim's head between its powerful jaws - and locked down.
"He didn't scream. It was a different, horrible plea for help, and I turned around, and by then the cat had wrestled Jim to the ground", said Nell - later at a hospital where her husband was being treated.
Nell picked up a 4-inch wide log and started to relentlessly beat the mountain lion - but to no avail. While Jim's head was still inside the lion's jaws, he spoke to his wife - telling her he had a pen in his pocket that she can use to poke the lion's eye. Nell reached for the pen and to her surprise, the pen bent after a few jabs into the lion's eye! She then picked up the log again and continued to beat the lion.
Eventually, the lion let go of its powerful jaw-grip on Jim's head. Having tasted blood, the lion stood there and looked at Nell - who was screaming and waving around her log in the lion's direction. The lion then simply walked away - leaving Nell and her badly wounded husband.
The couple would be celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary next month in New Zealand and before this horrific incident, neither of them had seen a mountain lion - even though they were both experienced hikers.
Nell strongly encouraged her husband to get up and walk away from the bloody scene. She gathered more logs and branches around them, in case other lions were in the area. They waited until a Park Ranger came around and they were rescued. Game Wardens then closed off the Park and released the hounds to track the lion. They were unsure how long it would take to actually locate the lion, but instead of coming across one lion, they came across two! The pair of lions were spotted not far from the scene of the incident and they were both shot and killed. Their bodies will be flown to a State Forensics Lab in hopes of determining whether any of them were directly responsible for Jim's brutal attack.
Jim has since undergone surgery for multiple lacerations on his head and body. His lips had to also be stitched back together and he has suffered puncture wounds as well as a torn scalp.
If Nell had ran away screaming for her life when the lion attacked her husband, there would have been no way he would have survived - but she stuck by her husband's side and fought hard to save his life. Nell displayed immense "courage" and "loyalty". In an age where marriage is usually short-lived and generally treated as "just something fun to do" (remember Britney Spears and Jason Alexander's 55-hour marriage?), this is a truly wonderful story and really highlights what marriage is supposed to be about.
Here's wishing all the best to Nell and Jim Hamm.
No comments:
Post a Comment