EDMONTON — An Edmonton-area bison rancher says the quick work of paramedics and STARS air ambulance is what saved her life after she was attacked by one of her animals.
Larissa Helbig was seriously injured three months ago when she was gored by a bison.
She says bison are usually curious and laid-back animals and she doesn’t know what prompted the attack, which she calls “a freak accident.”
A friend heard her screams and called for help.
Flight nurse Paula-Rose Sharmin and flight paramedic John Ernst were on the ground attending to Helbig less than 15 minutes later.
Ernst says Helbig’s injuries were “horrific.”
“When we were in the back of the ambulance, we rolled her over and I was able to look at her back, and see this gaping, huge wound on her back, and a gush of blood fell out of that,” Ernst said.
Her injuries included two collapsed lungs, multiple broken bones and a gash on her cheek.