Her Injuries
Williams survived the mauling, but suffered horrific wounds to her face and arms.
When the bear hit her in the head, its powerful punch broke the bone around her right eye and its claw tore off a chunk of skin, including most her eyebrow.
Shockingly, investigators were able to recover the flesh—and returned it to her.
"Game and Fish sent me my original eyebrow in a white envelope that they took for evidence collection at the scene," she says.
To patch the wound above her eye, doctors performed a skin graft using skin from under her arm.
After she gets a minor revision to the skin graft, Williams plans to to fully restore her eyebrow with micro-tattooing.
The deep bite wounds to her arms were especially excruciating.
"My left arm bites were deep enough to cause scar tissue that affected my range of motion for about six months. I could not get that arm up more than ninety degrees—that made swimming interesting," she says.
Her right tricep was also torn apart, requiring her to pack the wound twice a day for several weeks to prevent infection.
She also sustained a bite to her neck, but her CamelBak saved her from a more serious injury.
"The bear tried to bite and shake me by the neck but could not get a good hold because my CamelBak was in the way," she says. "Luckily, I am an ER nurse and a former burn unit nurse, so I am good with wounds. Everything healed without infection."
Still, she has permanent reminders.
On the most significant scar on her left arm, she wants to get a bear tattoo.
As far as the mental and emotional impact of what happened to her, Williams says she doesn't struggle with it.
The bear was just being a bear.
"I don't take the attack personally," she says. "I do get a little spooked running alone in the woods on occasion. And the Animal Planet shows where wild animals are attacking and eating each other bother me."
But she hasn't had any nightmares about the attack—or what she calls "bearmares."
- 2
- of
- 4
Get ACTIVE on the Go
Couch to 5K®
The best way to get new runners off the couch and across the finish line of their first 5K.
Available for iOS | Android
Discuss This Article