LAKE PARK, Minn. - Karen Brown was never scared of the family farm's host bull. She raised him.
But one day he got violent and rowdy while the 17-year-old rural Lake Park teen was finishing up her evening chores.
"Billy had just come towards me and put his head down," she recalled of the Aug. 17 accident. "He kept hitting me against the wall ... he hit me about five times."
She also hurt her head when she scraped it on the side of the wall as a result of the attack.
"My face was covered in blood from my head bleeding," Brown said.
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Her brother heard her screaming for help and managed to get the bull away from her.
When emergency crews responded, Brown was still conscious and talking, but she couldn't breathe.
The attack caused some internal bleeding and liver injuries that landed her in a Fargo hospital for 10 days.
Her recovery, however, has gone more smoothly than the doctors thought. The home-schooled teenager should be able to get back to normal activities by Nov. 1.
After getting her last CT scan a couple of weeks ago, she was able to milk the cows and perform minor dairy-farm tasks, but she was advised to avoid lifting anything over 35 pounds.
"My liver has actually healed faster than what he (the doctor) thought it would," she said. "I won't have any long-term effects at all."
Karen's mother, Anna Brown, said the outpouring of support from Lake Park and surrounding communities contributed to a speedy recovery.
"The family thanks all the churches and everybody for their prayers," she said. "Everybody was just wonderful."
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Riham Feshir is a reporter for the Detroit Lakes Tribune
