Itsa国际传媒檚 been nearly two years since Colin Dowler freed himself from the claws and teeth of a grizzly bear using a pocket knife.
And as he continues to recover physically, he has reflected on the traumatic attack with a degree of humour, dwelling on the wonder of the incident as well as refusing to let it paralyze him with fear and anxiety sa国际传媒� at least, so far.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 comfortable being the bad-ass dude that took on a grizzly bear with a pocket knife and won,sa国际传媒� Dowler said.
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He spends most of his time focusing on the perseverance part and draws strength from the knowledge he survived.
sa国际传媒淚 largely choose to, like, focus on, you know, the awesomeness of the event. How cool it is and I survived it,sa国际传媒� Dowler said. sa国际传媒淎nd how well Isa国际传媒檓 doing in recovery, as opposed to dwell on all the potentially crappy parts.sa国际传媒�
But he does wonder whether hesa国际传媒檚 doing himself a disservice by refusing to be traumatized by the incident and whether putting it into that kind of context is sa国际传媒渟hallow and egotistical.sa国际传媒�
It was July 29, 2019 and Dowler was returning down a logging road on his mountain bike after an overnight hike up Mount Doogie Dowler sa国际传媒� coincidentally named after his grandfather sa国际传媒� located on the remote Ramsay Arm northeast of Campbell River on the British Columbia mainland.
Two kilometres into his nine-kilometre ride back to the logging camp from where he set off the day before, he came upon a grizzly bear about 100 feet in front of him walking towards him. A standoff ensued with the bear trying to approach Dowler who fended him off with his bike. He tried tossing his backpack to the side to try and distract the bear and he even prodded it with a hiking pole to no avail.
The standoff escalated when the bear swatted at Dowlersa国际传媒檚 bike prompting Dowler to throw it at the big animal. The bear stepped over the bike and bit into Dowlersa国际传媒檚 left flank and carried him to the edge of the road 50 feet away. Attempts to free himself by such things as gouging at the animalsa国际传媒檚 eyes, peeling its lips back and even playing dead at one point were all unsuccessful and the animal continued biting and slashing at Dowler.
Thinking that he was a sa国际传媒済oner,sa国际传媒� and as thoughts about his wife and kids came to mind, he remembered he had a knife in his pocket. After a few attempts he was able to pull the knife out and jab it into the bearsa国际传媒檚 neck. The grizzly immediately let go and backed off.
During the subsequent standoff, Dowler treated his wounds, tying a tourniquet and then crawled back to his bike. Eventually, he was able to get on it and rode the final kilometres down the logging road to the logging camp where he was given first aid and a Medevac helicopter was called to take him to hospital in Vancouver.
Dowler was thankful for the logging crew that treated him at the camp and was impressed with the emergency medical help he got from the medevac crew to the emergency medical personnel at Vancouver General Hospital where he was flown to.
sa国际传媒淐anadian healthcare at its finest,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚 know from firsthand experience that we have a phenomenal healthcare system, full of people that truly care,sa国际传媒� Dowler said.
His recovery has been a two-year process that at first was positive and encouraging but he does admit to feelings of frustration over how the recovery process is still ongoing.
sa国际传媒淚f you go back a year, I was ecstatic about how far Isa国际传媒檝e come in such a short period of time with my recovery,sa国际传媒� he said, sa国际传媒渦p to and including running a half marathon in September 2020.
sa国际传媒淣ow itsa国际传媒檚 like, oh man, some of the things that I thought were going to, never happened, or at least, maybe havensa国际传媒檛 come along as far as Isa国际传媒檇 hoped.sa国际传媒�
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On the mental front, Dowler is not completely cavalier about the whole incident. He recognizes that theresa国际传媒檚 a possibility that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could catch up with him. He has pursued mental health support but has not been considered a person in high need of it. He has had a stressful period related to work but he doesnsa国际传媒檛 know if that is normal work stress or related to the bear attack.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 curious sometimes, if Isa国际传媒檓 suffering post-trauma or if I ever will and if I do, how will I know that itsa国际传媒檚 connected (to the attack).sa国际传媒�
But for now, he assesses it as a sa国际传媒渓ife-changingsa国际传媒� event but doesnsa国际传媒檛 spend a lot of time on the negative.
sa国际传媒淚 just donsa国际传媒檛 seem to draw much value from focusing on the dramatic part,sa国际传媒� he said.
HOMETOWN HEROES LOTTERY:
Dowler is telling his story to show his appreciation for the quality care he received from Vancouver General Hospital and to support the Hometown Heroes Lottery which raises funds for specialized adult health services and research at VGH and UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and Vancouver Community Health Services for all British Columbians.
Ticket purchases also support programs of the BC Professional Fire Fighterssa国际传媒� Burn Fund; including programs for burn survivors and resiliency programs for first responders.
Ticket sales for the 2021 Hometown Heroes Lottery run until July 16, 2021 or until tickets sell out. The 2020 Hometown Heroes Lottery tickets sold out over a month early. There are over 3,200 prizes worth over a total of $3.2 million, including luxury homes, appliances, furniture, cars and cash.
Tickets can be purchased online at , by phone, 604-648-4376, or 1-866-597-4376, or in-person at any London Drugs.
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