He Was Harnessed to Tree When the Bees Attacked

An Ohio man has managed to survive an exceptionally bad attack by bees. Austin Bellamy, 20, was harnessed into a lemon tree on Saturday in order to trim its branches when he inadvertently cut into a bee hive and was swarmed. Mom Shawna Carter tells WPCO he tried to lower himself but quickly became covered and could no longer see. He was "screaming and yelling, crying for help," she says. His grandmother and uncle were on the ground but were unable to come to his aid—they were also being attacked by bees. The Ripley Fire Department responded to the scene and cut Bellamy from the tree; he was airlifted to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center and put into a medically induced coma.

His family says he was stung thousands of times, and his mother said he also reportedly ingested about 30 bees. "They were actually sucking the bees out of his airways still Saturday night into Sunday morning," Carter says. And on Wednesday night, Bellamy woke up. He's expected to recover. Ripley Life Squad Paramedic Director Craig Hauke tells USA Today, "It was definitely a team effort by multiple area providers, law enforcement, air medical, and the receiving hospital to help save that gentleman." A GoFundMe campaign set up for Bellamy has raised north of $16,000. (More bee stings stories.)