It was a normal July morning in our sleepy cattle ranch town when Mr. Joseph stepped off of his porch with his dog. It was around 5am and the last time he would ever reach for anything with his hands again.
The dog started to bark so Mr. Joseph went to investigate and in a flash a large 80 pound Florida Panther was on him. Claws shredding his clothing and body one second and teeth ripping the next. Blood was everywhere and there was no fighting this wild cat off.
What was only at the most 2 minutes seemed like an hour as Mr. Joseph remembers it. Then everything went black. The next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital 4 days later only to find his life had changed and will never be the same. This tragic event had left Mr. Joseph severely disabled.
At first there were a lot of tears and thoughts of suicide. Mr. Joseph is well known around town as the ever helpful and always friendly rancher that you could always depend on if you needed a hand. Now after the tragic event 4 days earlier, Mr. Joseph didn't have a hand to help anyone with. The attack left him without arms other than two short nubs extending from his shoulders.
After spending 2 weeks in the hospital Mr. Joseph was released and his wife brought him home. She tells us that she could feel his fear as she drove them to their cattle ranch. What was left of his arms still covered in bandages, He would try to wipe the tears streaming down his face away with them but it wasn't working. All the sudden he yelled 'I can't live like this. I'm not able to feed myself or even go to the bathroom without help! What good am I now?'
Soon Mr. Joseph would find out that his life wasn't over. He just had to learn new ways of doing things, and while there were so many things he could no longer do. There were still things he could do and he would come to realize that a new world with new friends would open up to him. This wasn't the end of his life that he thought it would be.
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Panther Attack - 1 Year Later
General FictionA local man who was attacked in the early morning of July 13, 2021 survived but was horrifically injured. His life as he knew it is over but he remained hopeful. This is where he is now and how his life has changed.
