Human beings might be the most sentient creatures around, but that doesn't mean that we aren't vulnerable to being attacked by the other animals we share the planet with.
A man in Ohio was hospitalized after a serious incident in which he was stung an astounding 20,000 times by bees while he was cutting tree branches.
He's expected to recover, but it's a powerful reminder of how badly bees can mess a person up.
The 20-year-old Ohio man was helping a friend cut the branches when he inadvertently sliced into a nest of African killer bees. If that sounds bad, it was bad: he was stuck on a ladder with a swarm of angry, aggressive bees surrounding him.
While many types of bees can sting if they're provoked, Africanized honey bees are especially prone to provocation. The United States Department of Agriculture says that these bees "sting with less provocation that other honey bees."
Austin's grandmother Phyllis Edwards and uncle Dustin Edwards were at the scene. "I was going to try and climb the ladder to get to Austin, but I couldn't get to him because I was surrounded in bees," Phyllis told local media.
Because of the severity of the bee stings — Austin was stung 20,000 times and swallowed about 30 bees — he was placed in a medically-induced coma at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
"It looked like he had a black blanket on his head down to his neck, down to his arms," said Austin's mom, Shawna Carter. "So he had bees inside of him, and they suctioned bees out of him until Sunday morning.
Although he suffered from kidney failure, Austin did wake up from his medically-induced coma. His mom has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for his medical treatment. It's already raised more than its $10,000 goal.
While Austin is doing better, he's not out of the woods just yet. His mom provided an update on the GoFundMe page, saying that his oxygen levels keep dropping and that he's unable to walk well.
It isn't confirmed yet that the bees that attacked him were Africanized honey bees, with a rep from the Southwest Ohio Beekeepers Association saying they'll need to analyze a bee sample to be certain.
It's been a terrible week for him — he went from trying to help out a friend to clinging to his life in a medically-induced coma. Let us know what you think of this story, and share any bee horror stories you may have, in the comments.
h/t: FOX 19 Now
