A teenager was traveling in the United States when she came face to face with death in the form of a bison, it was revealed on a GoFundMe page.
Amelia "Mia" Dean, 19, from the UK, and a friend, along with her friend's dog, were on day two of a month-long cross-country road trip when they came across a bison at the Custer State Park trail in South Dakota.
The wild beast was originally 100 yards away but then suddenly ran down and approached the two young women. So naturally, they decided to walk around it. However, it was then that the animal locked eyes with Mia.
Mia was launched 15ft into the air by the bison and left with a punctured artery after the animal pierced its horn through her thigh. She was only able to escape when her friend managed to lead it away and called for an ambulance.
The teenager sustained life-threatening injuries and has been in the hospital for seven weeks. She said that she was so close to the predator that she could've "put [her] hand out on his forehead without properly stretching it out completely fine".
Mia detailed her near-death experience and explained how she felt in the moment, telling Dakota News Now: "I remember feeling the pressure on my hip. My hip being pushed back and I remember the sensation of flying in the air and going head over heels."
"The bison stuck around and his hooves were right over my head. I remember them being like right by my head," she added.
In addition to her femoral artery, the bison's horn caused damage to both her tibial and peroneal nerves, which has left her paralyzed from the knee down in one of her legs.
The family of the young woman launched a GoFundMe page for her so she can undergo testing and surgery at the Mayo Clinic to deal with the complexity of her nerve damage.
They shared that Mia needs expenses as her travel insurance will not pay for her transfer amid her very complicated injury.
The family wrote: "We are beyond fortunate that our daughter is still breathing, as she should have bled out in 2-8 minutes after the severed artery and the ambulance didn't arrive for 20 minutes. It is a miracle that she is alive today."
Mia agreed and told Dakota News Now that "it's a miracle" she lived until the ambulance arrived "let alone" when she arrived at Monument Health in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Unfortunately, Mia has no movement in her foot and can't walk without a walker or crutches. She said she is "done for a long time" - which is a tough realization for her as she has a passion for dance.
However, the brave teenager wants people to not feel discouraged from traveling because of her horror incident and insisted that it is a one-off.
"I think I hope this doesn’t discourage people from traveling. Travel and explore and have fun. This is a freak accident this isn’t going to happen every time somebody walks in a park. Hopefully," Mia said.
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