Today on the Morning Show John and I talked with Larry Mackey from Remer, from his hospital bed at St. Mary's Hospital in Duluth. Larry had a close call last week.
Larry fell 20 feet from his bear stand in the woods by his home on the evening of Monday Sept. 10th, injuring himself so much that he thinks he was unconscious for a couple of hours.
That couple of hours in the woods, on the floor of the forest, lasted until FIVE DAYS LATER when his grandson found him.
Larry was in the same spot for most of the time, as he broke his femur, pelvis and had many other injuries including a laceration on his head. He had no water,no food, and no warmer clothes....so he stuffed his coat with grass, leaves and moss, and tried to stay warm, and stay positive. Larry told us he knew he couldn't fall asleep, with the threat of hypothermia on those chilly nights.
What did he do to stay awake? He sang songs to himself. He also watched a mother bear and two cubs and some timberwolves.
His grandson Lucas arrived from the Twin Cities on Friday night but didn't realize his grandfather wasn't in his bed until the next morning. As soon as he realized it, he jumped on the four wheeler and found him right away.
"He's a great young man" Larry told us, "I love him very much."
Larry also told us he's going to be safer the next time he's out in the woods alone, and will carry a cell phone with him. Larry's got a long road to recovery ahead of him, but with friends and family looking out for him, and his positive attitude, he's hoping he'll be able to bear hunt NEXT season.
What do you carry when you are out in the woods alone? How do you think you would have reacted?
Thanks to Northland Press for their coverage of Larry's story. We're all pulling for you Larry!
-Heidi
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