Travis's Victim doing better ...

[Woody]

Travis the chimp attacked this women .... but she is doing much better:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/11/charla-nash-chimp-attack_n_354001.html

Disclaimer: Beware ... if you have a light stomach ... these photos should not be seen.

[phkrause]

That was pretty nasty wasn't it?

pk

[Liz]

I heard that the owner of the chimp has died.

[phkrause]

I heard that the owner of the chimp has died.

Hadn't heard that, thanks for the info.

pk

[Amelia]

Owner of chimpanzee that mauled Stamford woman, dies

John Nickerson, Staff Writer

CT Post

May 25, 2010

STAMFORD -- Sandra "Sandy" Herold, the owner of Travis, the chimpanzee that mauled and nearly killed Charla Nash, died Monday night, her attorney said.

Fairfield attorney Robert Golger said Herold, 72, died unexpectedly at her Rockrimmon Road home in North Stamford when an artery ruptured. Golger said the near-death of her friend Nash in February 2009, the resulting lawsuit and the death of her husband, Jerome, in 2004 all played a part in Herold's death.

"Ms. Herold had suffered a series of heart-breaking losses over the last several years, beginning with the death of her only child, then her husband, then her beloved chimp Travis, as well as the tragic maiming of friend and employee Charla Nash," Golger said in a statement to The Advocate. "Sandy was a tremendously warm hearted individual who was always giving and anyone who knew her could vouch for her generosity."

When first contacted about her sister-in-law's death, Stamford resident Ann Clumax said she was too upset to speak

"I think Travis had a lot to do with it. She was very depressed about losing everything she and Jerry worked so hard for. I just cannot talk about it anymore. I am too upset," said Clumax, who said she was very friendly with Herold.

Clumax later said that in the past few years, Herold did not talk to many people about what was going on in her life.

"She was a person who kept everything to herself. I'm shocked. She was very depressed. After her husband died, she had nobody. And after Travis, that put her in a very bad state," Clumax said.

Another family friend, Nadine Tassiello, of Norwalk, burst into sobs, saying she did not know Herold died.

Tassiello, who knew Herold for 20 years, agreed that Herold was very depressed after the attack.

"It affected her every which way. It was traumatic because after the loss of her daughter and Jerry, her husband, and Travis was all she had left. And then she had to stab him to help Charla. She was tough on the outside, but on the inside, she was just like anyone else," Tassiello said.

When Travis on Feb. 16, 2009, attacked Nash, who was trying to coax the 200-pound animal back inside, Herold grabbed a butcher knife from her home. After Travis went berserk, she stabbed him several times with the knife.

Herold, who is being sued for $50 million by Nash's estate, owned Travis for 14 years. Herold and her husband owned Desire Me Towing & Auto Body, Multi-Phase Fabrication & Welding Inc and J&S Associates.

At first, Herold said she had given Travis Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety disorders, before the attack, but then denied doing so. Toxicology tests showed that Travis had the drug in his blood.

Nash's Bridgeport attorney Matthew Newman said a statement would be forthcoming from the family about Herold's death.

Nash's attorneys have already obtained an attachment, which prohibits anyone from conveying, selling or mortgaging $10 million worth Herold's property before a final determination of Herold's liability in the attack is made.

Charla Nash's brother Michael did not return a call for comment.

Golger said this past year was particularly difficult for Herold.

She hated living alone in a house where she faced constant reminders of the vibrant and happy life she once led with her family and friends, he said.

The stress of defending the lawsuit and weighed heavily on Herold.

"In the end, her heart, which had been broken so many times before, could take no more," Golger said.

[SivartM]

For a second I thought you were talking about a different Travis...

Well, I'm glad she's getting better!

[Woody]

:)

[Amelia]

Chimpanzee attack victim Charla Nash discharged from hospital; says 'higher power' saved her

By Nancy Dillon

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

May 7th 2010

The Connecticut woman who lost her eyes, hands and much of her face to a crazed chimpanzee has left the Ohio hospital she called home for more than a year.

Blind and still disfigured beyond recognition, Charla Nash was discharged from the famed Cleveland Clinic Thursday night. She flew on a private plane to an undisclosed assisted-living center in Boston where she hopes to learn how to live independently, her family said.

"I take it day by day and just see how it goes. And I hope for the best," Nash said in an interview broadcast on NBC's "Today" show Friday. "There is something, some power that kept me alive."

Nash, 57, wears hats and scarves to cover much of her face, but looks considerably better than she did during her first unveiling on the "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in November.

She has a new cosmetic nose - but still breathes through her trachea - and has a more natural contour to her mouth thanks to more surgeries, her brother Stephen Nash told the Daily News.

Charla Nash can walk but has trouble climbing stairs. She still can't chew food, but she's starting to drink on her own with a straw, "Today's" Meredith Vieira said.

Stephen Nash told The News, "She's got quite a lot of determination. She was always a strong, independent person. She left home at 17 to be a cowgirl, racing in rodeos out west."

"We're hoping that at the end of the surgeries, her only deficiency will be that she's blind," he said. "She should be able to make her way through the world as well as any blind person."

But the family isn't in a rush, he said.

"Emotionally, she doesn't want to be alone right now," he said. "This was quite a shocking event, and she can't see, so her defenses are down. She doesn't want to feel vulnerable."

Charla's twin brother, Mike Nash, says his sister's greatest inspiration is her daughter Briana, who's going off to Quinnipiac University in the fall.

Charla Nash was visiting her pal Sandra Herold in Stamford, Conn., in February 2009 when Herold's 200-pound pet chimp, Travis, suddenly attacked her.

The berserk beast ripped off her hands, nose, lips and eyelids before cops arrived and shot it dead.

Nash, who says she doesn't remember being attacked, is suing Herold for $50 million. She's also suing Connecticut for $150 million, arguing that state officials failed to prevent the gruesome attack.

"Ms. Charla Nash has made great progress in her recovery," the Cleveland Clinic said in a statement. "Throughout her stay she has touched the lives of many of our employees."

Nash and her family are hopeful she will someday be a candidate for a hand and face transplant from a single donor.

"She still has some sensitive areas, but she doesn't need painkillers. She has a feeding tube, but it's not hurting all day long," Mike Nash said.

"She's not angry. She understands it was the animal's instinct to become the alpha. ... She can't change what happened. She wants to get fixed and healthy now and enjoy her life with her daughter. That's her driving force."

Toxicology tests showed the chimp had the anti-anxiety drug Xanax in his system.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national...ion_clinic.html

[Gail]

I wonder what the reason was that the owner gave the chimp Xanax in the first place...

What a heart-breaking story! May God go with this woman and keep her in her new life.