RESCUED MAN TELLS ABOUT HIS ORDEAL ENCOUNTERED BEAR DURING ADVENTURE.Byline: Emanuel Parker Staff Writer A 26-year-old Arleta man who was injured in·jure tr.v. in·jured, in·jur·ing, in·jures 1. To cause physical harm to; hurt. 2. To cause damage to; impair. 3. and stranded in the Angeles National Forest The Angeles National Forest (ANF) was established by executive order on December 20, 1892 as the San Gabriel Timberland Reserve. It covers over 2,600 km² (650,000 acres) and is located in the San Gabriel Mountains of Los Angeles County, just north of the metropolitan area of Los for 12 days recounted his ordeal calmly Wednesday - but sobbed when he described his tearful reunion with his father. Luis Cruz, a Valley College student, had driven into the mountains Aug. 9 and was rescued Tuesday, seven miles from Switzer Campground where he abandoned his disabled truck to walk back home. Cruz said he fell off a 20-foot cliff shortly after leaving the truck, injuring his back and shoulder, and was still trying to crawl to safety when a hiker found him. ``I have gone through a lot of things, a very hard experience,'' Cruz said from his Huntington Hospital Huntington Hospital (formerly Huntington Memorial Hospital) is a 525-bed hospital in Pasadena, California. Huntington Hospital serves as the trauma center for the San Gabriel Valley Area and nearby communities. It is one of 13 trauma centers in Los Angeles County. bed, where he is listed in fair-to-good condition with a lumbar lumbar /lum·bar/ (lum´bar) pertaining to the loins. lum·bar adj. Of, near, or situated in the part of the back and sides between the lowest ribs and the pelvis. fracture, a badly bruised left shoulder and numerous cuts, scratches and bruises Bruises Definition Bruises, or ecchymoses, are a discoloration and tenderness of the skin or mucous membranes due to the leakage of blood from an injured blood vessel into the tissues. Pupura refers to bruising as the result of a disease condition. . ``I managed to stay alive with God's help for 12 days, just drinking muddy water and eating some green leaves and dried leaves,'' recalled Cruz, who said he lost track of one day and thought he was missing 11 days. On Monday he had a close encounter with a black bear, he said, but didn't see any people, despite his calls for help, until the hiker found him. He said he heard the bear approach within 15 feet of him that morning. ``I turned around and the bear got scared and I got scared. The bear ran away but I couldn't. It was a good thing that he ran away,'' he said, describing the bear as medium-size. ``My father said to me long ago, `That's how boys become men.' I remembered his words when I was up there, crawling the rocks up and down ... those are the words that kept me strong ... my father doesn't cry, and when I saw him cry that made me cry,'' Cruz said with a sob SOB shortness of breath. SOB abbr. shortness of breath sob, n a short, convulsive inspiration, attended by contraction of the diaphragm and spasmodic closure of the glottis. . ``I realized how much he cared for me. I told him I loved him.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Luis Cruz, 26, of Arleta recovers in Huntington Hospital in Pasadena on Wednesday. Lost since Aug. 9 in the San Gabriel Mountains San Gabriel Mountains, S Calif., E and NE of Los Angeles, running c.50 mi (80 km) westward from Cajon Pass. San Antonio Peak (10,080 ft/3,072 m) is the highest of the range. Citrus fruits are raised on the southern foothills. , the Valley College student was injured in a 20-foot fall and survived without food or water for 12 days. Bernardo Alps/Staff Photographer |
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