Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — A man who was attacked by a grizzly bear last month shared his recovery journey on Friday, with the help of his daughters, as well as future plans for when he is back home in Montana.
On Sept. 8, Rudy Noorlander was helping some fellow hunters search for a deer they shot in Big Sky, Montana, when he was mauled by a grizzly bear. Noorlander had bear spray and a gun with him, though neither was able to stop the bear.
After punching the bear in the nose, it grabbed his jaw and ripped it. Noorlander was left with little to no jaw, a collapsed lung, and bites on his arms and legs.
First enduring emergency surgery in Montana, he was flown to University of Utah Hospital for a jaw reconstruction.
"It's been pretty crazy since everything happened, but we're just super happy he's alive and here. He's the strongest person I know, the most supportive, loving, funny, good-spirited person I know," said Ashley Noorlander in a news conference at the Salt Lake hospital on Friday.
While Noorlander is unable to speak right now, his daughters Ashley Noorlander and Katelynn Davis sat by his side to help him answer questions and tell a little bit of his story.
Rudy Noorlander had Davis read some remarks he wrote to begin the conference. After thanking friends and strangers for the support, love and kindness, he said, "That first root beer float is going to taste amazing, and soon I'm going to be a free-range chicken not hooked up to anything."
Dr. Hilary McCrary, who performed Noorlander's jaw surgery, said, "The first thing that was so incredible to watch is just how enthusiastic Rudy was, even after being just attacked by a grizzly bear. He was very adamant that he was going to fight this thing and get through it and, at that point, he was still on a ventilator and had a chest tube and lots of lines everywhere. For someone to be so enthusiastic about his prognosis and outcome that early is very heartwarming as a physician."
McCrary had to put two plates in Noorlander's neck for stabilization, and something to fill in his jaw since most of it was missing. While those were in place, McCrary's medical team developed a model jaw that they were then able to construct using Rudy's fibula bone, a bone in the lower leg. The team then used parts of Rudy's skin to graft onto his new jaw, and make him a new bottom lip.
McCrary said the surgery took about 10 hours, and this was her first time doing surgery on a bear attack victim.
Noorlander did not wish to answer any questions about the bear attack itself on Friday because he wants to share that part of the story when he is able to speak again. He wanted to participate in Friday's press conference and plans to share more of his story because, "Only by the hands of God am I here. I've had a lot of inspirations and I felt the need to share my story with others, and believe it or not, I believe that this attack was an answer to my prayers and that, potentially, it could help somebody else going through something similar," he wrote on his whiteboard for Davis to read.
He said his drive to recover comes from his family and living life, writing, "I will win round two." He said he is not worried about going back out into the Montana wilderness, and is excited to go back to life as it was.
It is undetermined when Noorlander will be able to go home to Montana. Davis said he is in good shape to go home, but some insurance paperwork is holding things up. His family is hoping to send him home Monday, where he will be reunited with his Yorkshire terrier named Sully.
Rudy Noorlander's long-term plan is to write a book with his story. He said he is hoping to have Cole Hauser from the hit show "Yellowstone" play him in "the movie."
Perhaps most inspiring of all, Noorlander ended the press conference with a prewritten statement: "I just want to end this by saying most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all. Even if there seems to be no hope, keep on fighting."
