GROTON, N.H. (WHDH) - A bear’s massive claws are the last haunting image Apryl Rogers recalls before getting viciously mauled inside her Groton home last month.
“I heard this noise, and I got out of bed and went into the kitchen and there was this big black bear,” the 71-year-old said of the attack.
Rogers, who relies on a wheelchair, says she found the bear had torn apart her cabinets and was facing her.
“It was a big black bear with big claws, and I don’t know, he just sat right next to me and kept going like this, and I kept going, ‘Oh no, something’s gonna happen,'” she said.
The bear ripped her left cheek open, fractured her neck, scarred her scalp, and damaged her left eye so badly, it had to be removed.
“I don’t know how I did it but I did it,” Rogers said about making the 911 call to police. “I said, ‘Could you please come right away. I’ve been mauled by a bear,’ and they said, ‘We’ll be right there honey.'”
Rogers spent three weeks in the hospital and has endured two surgeries with more to come.
She’s thankful to the first responders, the health care workers, friends, family, and strangers that have helped her gain her strength on her road to recovery.
“I feel great,” she said. “I feel happy. I feel strong. I’d like to get over him and I’ll be fine.”
While fish and game authorities set traps, they never did find the bear.
Rogers said that won’t stop her from eventually returning home to her house in the woods.
“All I can tell you God was with me and I don’t feel I’ll be hurt again,” she said.
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