A YOUNG expat living in Queensland, Australia has described the traumatic moment she was attacked by a magpie – with doctors saying she’s “lucky to be alive.”
Marcela Montalva, 30, was riding her bike to the post office when she was attacked by a magpie, leaving her with debilitating injuries.
Originally from Chile, she travelled to to Australia in February where she now lives in the remote town of Ravenswood to complete her 88 days of regional work.
Working at the town’s service station, she had been given the morning off when she decided to borrow her boss’ bike and make the 2km journey to the post office.
It was on this journey that a magpie – threatened by Marcela’s presence – swooped towards her, causing her to fall off her bike and onto the roadside.
She was knocked out during the fall and scrapped the left side of her face along the concrete.
When she regained consciousness, she had been taken to a medical unit in a nearby mine.
Speaking to news.com.au, she revealed that she was unconscious for about half an hour in total.
Her last memory was of the vicious creature darting towards her before she fell and hurt herself.
“It was not a new road to me, and I was in the middle of the [path]way when I see the shadow [of the magpie] and that’s the last I remember of the accident.
“I woke up in the medical unit of the mine site, covered in blood, and they said they found me passed out and face down.
“I was very confused, and that’s all my memory from the accident.”
She retold how she could hear the screeches of the bird before as it tried to assert its territory.
“I lost control of my bike, and just smashed my face into the concrete,” she added.
“The nurses in the medical saw a lot of blood, and thought I might have bones broken which they were right about.”
She was then flown to Townsville University Hospital – 90 minutes away – where doctors admitted that she was “lucky to be alive” given that broken bones in her neck could have blocked her airway.
Scans revealed that she had fractured her hyoid bone which is potentially dangerous given its proximity to the airway.
“Fortunately that break didn’t block my airways, because I don’t know how long I was face down because if it did I would probably be dead,” she said.
“I don’t know how it happened, it was so weird, but it definitely could have killed me.”
Visibly shaken up by the ordeal, Marcela is unsure whether she will be able to remain in Australia or if she will need to undergo surgery.
Currently, she cannot close her mouth and experiences a strong degree of pain when she talks.
She is also fearful that she might lose her job due to her inability to work.
“I have no information, I am in a super remote location and have no car.
“I don’t even know how to get to the hospital [for appointments] because people work and have stuff to do. There’s no public transportation.
“I feel so anxious about this … and what will happen to me.”
To make matters worse, it seems unlikely that she will be able to rely on any assistance from her insurance provider as she “wasn’t wearing a helmet when she was found.”
Consequently, she has started a GoFundMe to try and raise some money to pay for her medical bills.
While no demand for payment has arrived yet, the expectation is that it will be several thousands when it does.
She has set a goal of raising 20,000 dollars, of which she has already reached 11,000.
According to University of Southern Queensland wildlife science lecturer Meg Edwards, Magpies have a propensity to swoop during spring due to a strong sense of protectiveness during breeding and nesting.
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“We see these swooping events when magpies have either eggs or chicks in the nest, and that’s usually been between August and October,” Dr Edwards said.
Magpies will tend to aggressively defend their nest for about six weeks after their babies have hatched, but only a small number turn to swooping humans.