GEAUGA COUNTY, Ohio — A woman had to have her ear reattached after she was kicked in the head by deer during an evening fun run in Ohio.
Rebecca Heasley, 40, was trying to get one more loop through the woods while competing in Geauga Park District’s “Space Race” on Oct. 1 when she was knocked to the ground, according to The Plain Dealer.
Rebecca Heasley was running a 5K race in Geauga County, Ohio when a deer came out of nowhere, kicked her in the head, and severed her ear.. https://t.co/e7PC92GlE5
— Outdoor Life (@outdoorlife) October 14, 2022
“Everyone was trying to get that last loop in, so I thought I was hit by another runner until I looked down and I was seeing red. I kinda knew then that something else was going on,” Heasley told The Plain Dealer.
The hoof of the deer struck her head, nearly ripping her ear off.
“Honestly stayed calm through the whole thing. I had a moment of freak out when I found my ear wasn’t where it was supposed to be, but other than that it was more or less like if I’m going to freak out, this is going to be much worse than it really is,” Heasley told WJW.
Heasley decided to walk to the finish line, where emergency medics were called in.
Surgeons were able to reattach her ear at University Hospitals in Cleveland, The Plain Dealer reported.
Heasley told the paper that the incident would not keep her from running in the woods.
“I’ve done several races that go through the woods, and I’ve never been hit by a deer before. I’m not going to allow this to change me. But, I have a story out of it,” Heasley said.
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