When Mike was in residency, he did a month-long rotation up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It was great! We took our whole family up and stayed with Mike’s sister who lived nearby, and did a bunch of sight-seeing while we were there.
The ER is very close to Yellowstone National Park, so they see many cases coming from the park.
One day a man in his fifties brought in his wife who had a dislocated shoulder.
She was giving her husband a really hard time, telling him he would be doing the dishes for the next 6 months.
The couple had been observing nature out in the park and had discovered a grizzly bear. They moved closer to see it until they were only about 100 feet away. They were watching intently when the bear turned their direction.
The man was so startled (understandably) he whirled around, sprinting at full speed. Unfortunately his wife was standing behind him. He ran her over.
The bear couldn’t have cared less.
The man rushed his wife to the ER. The ER staff thought the situation was hilarious, especially because she wouldn’t let him live it down. Luckily, except for the dislocated shoulder, man and wife were just fine.
Moral of the story: If you startle easily around wild animals, take care or you may be on dish detail for a while.
