A man from County Down, Northern Ireland, who was trampled by a herd of cows in the Swiss Alps and whose ribcage was left looking like “a bag of smashed crisps,” has claimed that he is fortunate to be alive and wants to warn people about the dangers of being around cows.
In July 2022, Alan Couser was conducting a walking tour when, according to him, a cow at the rear of the herd rushed with “racehorse speed” at him, knocking him down in the process.
According to him, the remainder of the herd was on top of him within a matter of seconds.
Mr. Couser was pushed, kicked, and rolled about by the cows’ nostrils as they stomped and kicked him.
In an interview, he described their hooves as being heavy and pointed, which, according to the doctors who treated him, left his chest looking like a bag of “crushed crisps.”
Mr. Couser had 21 of his ribs shattered, two of his vertebrae injured, his facial bone split, his leg broken in various places, and his ankle dislocated.
Following his encounter with cattle in the Swiss Alps, Alan Couser required medical attention and ultimately had surgery.
He was transported to the Tauern Clinic in Zell, which is located in Zurich, by a medical helicopter. There, he remained in critical care for many days.
“My leg and ankle had to be repaired [into place] at the side of the mountain, so I was given morphine – the paramedics were fantastic,” he added. “My leg and ankle had to be placed [into position] at the side of the mountain.”
After both of his lungs collapsed, he had a rapid deterioration in his breathing.
“Blood everywhere,” they yelled.
Anne, who was his wife and who lived nearby, was able to reach him within a few minutes after the occurrence.
She described the scene by stating, “There was blood and flies everywhere, and he was slashed from head to foot.”
The couple was informed by members of the community that the cows had run amok after escaping from a field and stampeding down a hill.
Because Anne had been waiting for the rest of the walking group around a curve a few hundred yards away, she was not there when the event occurred.
A man who was stomped by a cow was taken to the hospital by helicopter.
An inquest has heard that cows were responsible for the death of a walker and that the owners of a travel firm, Alan and Ann, spent most of their married lives planning and guiding travel excursions.
Before he sustained his injury, Alan Couser was in charge of a walking tour.
Anne, when speaking from their house outside of Bangor, recalled the “thunder of the cows’ hooves” as the cows stampeded by after assaulting her husband. Anne was speaking while the animals were attacking her husband.
Anne reported feeling an immediate sense of relief as soon as she heard that the villagers had said that a chopper was on its way to the scene.
“There was no place for me in the helicopter, and my final words to him were, ‘I will see you at the hospital.'” “I knew the arrival of the helicopter and the professionalism of the doctors that he would be okay. There was no room for me in the helicopter.”
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Mr. Couser wants to make sure everyone is aware that it is critical to have travel insurance with them when they are on vacation and that cows may be really hazardous.
“Make sure you have either your EHIC or your GHIC (global). “They are accommodating,” was his comment.
“When Ann, my wife, arrived at the hospital with the card, they duplicated it, and then they gave it back to me. After that, I had no more problems.”
“There was no need for us to worry since the hospital took care of everything.”
Anne Couser said that having travel insurance helped make the situation a lot more manageable.
She stated, “I remember meeting him for the first time, and he had just returned from surgery,” as the circumstance surrounding their first encounter.
“I looked at all the cables, all the machines that he was connected up to, and his leg was cast, and I thought to myself, this is just the beginning of a very long trip.”
“One day, he would be optimistic, then the next day, there would be a chest drain in, and he would be sad, and there would be tears.
“And I guess the other thing I’m thinking about is, is there going to be a new normal?”
After undergoing surgery and spending a significant amount of time in critical care, Alan went back to his hometown and was taken to the Ulster Hospital in Dundonald, where he would continue receiving therapy.
The breathtaking scenery of the Swiss Alps makes them a favorite vacation spot for many people.
Even though they are uncommon, incidents in which cows and people are involved have been known to take place.
On farms in Northern Ireland, there have been 15 fatalities involving animals since January 2013, including 13 males and two females. The deaths occurred between the years 2013 and 2022.
Bulls were involved in six of the cases, while the other animals involved were either recently calved cows or cattle.
According to Phil Walsh, a local veterinarian, cows have the potential to injure people owing to their size unintentionally yet severely.
“These creatures are going to be up to 1,600 pounds, and they are trying to scare you away, particularly if their calves are with them,” he added. “They are trying to fend you off, especially if their calves are with them.”
“Cattle are herd animals; as a result, they are typically curious and interested in humans, as well as other things that they perceive to be a danger to them, including the fact that people in the area perceive that they provide a threat to those people. This is presumably a protection mechanism.”
In the meanwhile, the Cousers are getting ready for their next journey, during which they will be leading another walking group somewhere in Europe.
Anne said that Alan had shown “amazing resilience” and had “bounced back,” adding that he “wasn’t going to let anything destroy him.”