One of Those Days…Times Three

 

 

Twenty year old Dylan McWilliams achieved something in only four years that very few people do in their whole lives.

Even less would even want to.

In fact, I think Dylan may be the first person in history to live through what he did.

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Like many of us, the young man has an adventurous streak.  Unlike many of us, he actually gets to spend a lot of time outdoors.  Unlike the majority of us, he refuses to give up his adventurous lifestyle despite what he has been through.

It all started about 3 ½ years ago when the Grand Junction, Colorado native was hiking near Moab, Utah.  He felt a sharp sting and looked down to find that he had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Lucky for him, it was a “dry bite”, so the reptile injected just a small amount of venom.

McWilliams was ill for only a short time afterwards.

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Dylan lasted about three years thinking nothing exciting, at least in a bad way, would happen to him again.  Then he took a fateful camping trip with friends in his home state last July.

During the night a nearly 300-pound black bear crept into his campsite and grabbed him by the head, no doubt anticipating a tasty meal.  Dylan took exception to being chosen for a midnight snack and fought back.

“The bear grabbed the back of my head and started pulling me and I was fighting back as best as I could.”  He punched the bruin in the eyes and nose as it dragged him.  “It dropped me and stomped on me a little bit, and I was able to get back to the group and they scared it away.”

McWilliams needed nine staples to close the wounds in his scalp from the bear bites.

“I guess I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time,” he said of the attack.

Yeah.

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His latest outdoor misadventure occurred last week when he was bodyboarding near Shipwreck’s Beach, off Poipu in Maui, Hawaii.  He was about 50 yards off shore when a 3- to 5-foot wave knocked him off his board in 15-foot-deep water.  McWilliams was swimming back toward the beach when he felt an intense pain in his right calf.  What he believes was a tiger shark between six and eighth feel long had clamped down on his leg.  “I didn’t know if I lost half my leg or what,” he said.

Scrappy Dylan gave the shark a kick before, “launching into a desperate swim to shore.”  He explained, “The scariest part was swimming back,” adding that he was hoping the shark wouldn’t continue following the trail of blood from his leg.

A bystander on shore called paramedics.  This wound required seven stitches to close.

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With the shark attack, Dylan achieve the dubious honor of being one of the few, if not the only, person to be bitten by a rattlesnake, chomped by a bear, and chewed by a shark…and it only took him four years to do it.

As an outdoors enthusiast, McWilliams spends a lot of time outside.  He’s employed as a ranch hand and also teaches survival training.

He’s sure banking a lot of good stories to tell around the campfire.

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I’ve told my readers in the past that my sons and I have been known to send each other pictures of our wounds from various minor mishaps.  Dylan has us beaten.  He has posted photos of his wounds on his Facebook page.  If you absolutely must see them, click this link: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004638585658&lst=1112160839%3A100004638585658%3A1524801281&sk=photos

I have to warn you, these photos are not for the weak-hearted.

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“I don’t know,” McWilliams told a reporter recently.  “I’m either really lucky or really unlucky.”  He added, “It’s kind of crazy.  I don’t seem to have a lot of luck but it’s kind of lucky in unlucky situations.”

“My parents are grateful I’m still alive,” he said.

Yeah, I’ll bet they are.

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Next time one of my boys or I prepare to go on an outdoors adventure where there’s any chance of dangerous animal attack, I’ll recommend that we invite Dylan McWilliams.  If somebody gets attacked, it’ll be him, but don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll survive.

Remember, he’s lucky in unlucky situations.

 

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(below) One of the many news stories about Dylan’s bites.  Gory stuff has been blurred out.