Rudy Noorlander survived a grisly — and grizzly — bear attack in Montana in early September 2023 and not only lived to talk about it, but to tell jokes about the encounter.
Friday at University of Utah Health, where he received multiple operations and other treatments, including a complete “Jaw in a Day” rebuild using his left fibula, Noorlander recounted what happened, surrounded by the surgeons and other experts who saved his life. And he made the audience laugh periodically, too.
Noorlander, 63, owns Alpine Adventures in Big Sky, Montana. He’d gone into the woods that day to help a father-and-son pair of customers find the deer they’d shot. Along the way, he encountered a young bear, so he got out his gun in case he happened upon one of its bigger relatives. He’d met bears before without incident, but knew he needed to be prepared.
The gun misfired, so it wasn’t enough to save him from an attack when a 10-foot grizzly charged him, raking his arm and chest. He tried to punch it in the face, but isn’t sure if he connected. The animal then picked him up by his jaw and everything around him faded away, he said. He didn’t hear his customers yelling and ultimately scaring off the bear. He didn’t hear the bear growl. He just heard the crunch as his chin and jaw were demolished before the bear dropped him. He also suffered bites on his arms and legs.
But not once did he doubt that he would survive, he said, crediting God with intervening. Noorlander said he figured that “If God saves you, it’s probably for a reason.” He’s been pondering that.
His doctors have told him that had the damage on his face been inflicted one-eighth of an inch in either direction, the bear would have hit an artery and he’d likely not have made it. As he once told other reporters covering his medical journey, that’s just half a tooth.
It took two hours to pull him off the mountain. He was taken to a nearby hospital to stabilize him, then sent to Utah for treatment, but his condition was still very precarious for some time.
Later, he would joke numerous times for different media that one of his first thoughts as the bear latched onto his jaw was this face “is my moneymaker. Don’t touch that.”
When the hospital staff gave him a white board to communicate, since he could not speak, they noted he often made wisecracks.
Putting a face together again
Dr. Hilary McCrary, a head and neck surgeon at the University of Utah, said she knew they’d be able to reconstruct the bottom of his face. She’d done it before, though for cancer patients. A bear attack was something new, but they had tools to make a precise model of the dimensions, angles and other considerations to shape the fibula — the smaller of the two lower leg bones — into a jaw. Other experts would then create a prosthetic chin that could be attached and look natural and add teeth.
The experts who helped him pass what they call the “grocery store test,” meaning going out in public without being stared at, included McCrary, head and neck surgeon Dr. Richard Cannon, oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. David Adams, maxillofacial prosthodontist Rhet Tucker and anaplastologist Paul Tanner, who had the honor of attaching the natural-looking silicone cover and making sure that its final appearance matched his in tone and contour. As well as, of course, a host of nurses and techs and others that cared for Noorlander on his monthslong journey.
All six of the experts discussed their roles in rebuilding his face during the press conference. Cannon said McCrary “pulled out all the stops” to help Noorlander, who had served in the Navy when he was younger.
Despite the sense of humor and great attitude his doctors heralded, the story he told Friday is harrowing. He had to be positioned a certain way so he wouldn’t choke first on blood and later and for a long time on his drool. He couldn’t talk for some time. He had to learn to swallow and to build up the muscles that enable that act.
Adams described how the “Jaw in a Day” reconstruction was plotted out on a computer, with precise cuts so that the fibula would correspond exactly to what was left of Noorlander’s jaw. The implants had to be put in in an exact position. There was a lot of conferring and planning involving different members of the team, who each had to do things perfectly to make the operations a success.
The jaw has taken some getting used to, Noorlander said. His mouth doesn’t open as wide as it used to and he’s needed help so that he can now speak again. Tanner said the prosthetic chin and lower lip have sealed off his mouth “as best as possible” so that Noorlander isn’t as bothered by drool, but that’s still a work in progress that will likely improve.
But life is returning to normal. He’s eaten a slice of pizza and steak and can manage a soda if he uses a straw. And he’s ready to head home. So are his daughters, KateLynn Davis and Ashley Noorlander, who’ve also gotten to know the Wasatch Front pretty well as their dad’s care has progressed.
Big Sky beckons.