Herb Benham: Life after the lion finally sweet for Shannon Parker
| Thursday, Jun 25 2009 05:21 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Jun 25 2009 05:21 PM
Today is a different kind of anniversary for Shannon Parker. Five years ago, the beautiful 5-foot-3-inch Arvin High graduate was attacked by a mountain lion while hiking north of Kernville. The lion won round one, but in the spirit of happy anniversaries, Parker won the next 11.
Earlier this week, Parker, now 32, taped a segment of "Animal Planet," re-enacting the attack. She played herself. Actors from the UCLA film school played her three hiking companions. The episode, titled "Man Eaters," airs in December.
Parker has more to celebrate. She has been unemployed since April and loves it. Great work if you can get it.
Other big news includes Parker being engaged to Gary Fussel Jr., a partner in a mortgage company. Their wedding is set for March 10.
Being mauled by a lion is not unlike being a professional basketball player. Life moves on and, at a certain point, you can't sustain a career of being the girl who was attacked by a lion. Remaking oneself is probably a sensible pursuit.
"It will never go away, but I hardly think about it all now," Parker said. "I'm doing well."
Five years ago, the mauling was international news, partly due to its rarity. There have been only14 verified attacks in California (six fatalities) since 1890.
What also made it a must-read was that being attacked by a shark, bear or lion is everybody's worst nightmare. Parker had an especially tough time of it -- grueling as well as gruesome.
Parker was hiking with three friends in the Sequoia National Forest on a trail that rises above the Kern River. The lion, later tracked and shot by officers from Fish and Game, was as big as a golden retriever. She estimates the attack lasted between 10 to 12 minutes.
"My friends couldn't hear," Parker said at the time. "We fought for three or four minutes and then I fell off the trail and down the mountain with the lion still on top of me, locked onto my face. I finally stopped the fall by putting one foot on a rock and the other on a tree stump."
Her fellow hikers, including her then-boyfriend, finally heard her screams and stabbed the cougar in the neck. Getting stabbed didn't stop the lion, so one of her friends started dropping small boulders on its head. After the fourth boulder, the lion let go.
Parker lost her right eye, had 312 lacerations and a stick stuck in her hip all the way to the bone. She went a month without looking in the mirror, and even after that, it wasn't easy.
Parker had eight surgeries, including reconstructive nose surgery and one that afforded her a prosthetic right eye.
After the attack, TV and national news publications couldn't get enough of her. Parker appeared on "Larry King Live," among other national programs, and there was an article written about her in Reader's Digest.
But when the interest subsided, Parker had to rethink her life. She considered switching careers from selling surgical supplies to perhaps becoming a nurse or a counselor specializing in helping people through crises.
I saw her early on and again almost a year ago. She was having trouble sleeping, wasn't crazy about her job and she had been dating, but no one special. Parker wasn't sure what the next thing was. She was searching for life after the lion.
We talked Tuesday. She was in Newport at Crate & Barrel picking out wedding gear. I hadn't heard her so happy. If I were in Newport, I'd be happy too.
Today is the anniversary. It's a good one. Parker may or may not celebrate this date again.
