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Woman gored by bison in Yellowstone is recovering, gets engaged at hospital

Injuries include seven spinal fractures and collapsed lungs

NPS / Neal Herbert<br/>

Bison in Yellowstone National Park

By: Casey Conlon

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BILLINGS — Amber Harris' vacation to Yellowstone National Park didn't go as planned - but her now-fiancé has at least given the story a happy ending.

Harris, a 47-year-old resident of Phoenix, Arizona, was gored by a bison on Monday, July 17, 2023, during a trip to the park with her daughter and Harris' boyfriend Chris Whitehill.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, Harris detailed her injuries: "I was carried out of the field on a stretcher to an ambulance and then transferred to a helicopter for a life flight to Idaho," she said. "Pain meds, CT, MRI, and I sustained seven spine fractures, bilateral collapsed lungs and bruising all over. Glory to God all my vital organs look good."

Harris also detailed the moments before the attack that happened near the Lake Lodge Cabins on the north shore of Lake Yellowstone.

"We woke up our first morning and walked down to the lodge for some coffee then decided take a walk through a field to get to Yellowstone Lake," she wrote. "There were about 20 elk roaming around, so we waited for them to clear before walking through the field. About halfway to the water we noticed two bison - one on the path we were walking and the other in the opposite direction.

"We stopped and looked at the massive beast, about 50 yards away on the trail, hidden at first in the shadows of the tress. We watched him drop and roll in the dirt, like a dog would. He got up on his feet and started walking then running towards us."

The story took an unexpected happy turn at the hospital, where Whitehill proposed to Harris after saying he was planning to do it during the Park visit.

"Chris had planned a beautiful marriage proposal this week on a natural bridge but all three of us have been in the hospital since yesterday morning, and I won’t be able to leave any time soon," Harris wrote. "So my love got down on one knee beside my hospital bed last night and formally asked me to be his wife. Without any hesitation I said yes!"

Whitehill has created a GoFundMe to help with Harris' medical costs.