Leopard Attack?

The other night a man in his 20's was brought in from the village. His head was sliced open, his right arm was punctured, and he was bleeding excessively.

As Dennis sutured his skull, I causally asked what had caused his wound, assuming it must have been another motor bike accident. But it wasn't.
-- “He was attacked by a leopard,” my translator explained in disbelief.
-- “A leopard? Really? Are they even around here?" I asked stupefied and scared. I had heard of hyenas... but leopards? Honestly... a leopard??
Once I got over my initial surprise, I said, “Tell me the story in detail. How did it happen?”

 By this time Dennis had already closed off most of the foot long wound on his head. A thick gauze bandage covered the man’s face leaving only right eye uncovered. He searched my face in fear but didn’t speak. So my translator asked his friends to relay the story, instead.

As they spoke, a half dozen people slowly inched into the room to hear as well.

He was fishing by a river in a far off village when he passed next to a large bush. He heard something and turned to see a leopard pounce on him, taking him to the ground. The beast swiped his head in the process cutting a wide, ragged wound from his left eye socket to the back of his skull. Then the animal turned quickly and sprang on him again. This time grabbing his arm he had raised it in his defense. Then without explanation the leopard left as quickly as he came.

Since he lives so far away, it took him all day to reach our clinic --all day with the muscles in his skull protruding and various holes in his body tied off with old rags.

I asked if I could take a few pictures and he nodded but still didn’t speak. After each picture, I flipped my camera around so he could see what we were doing. He had to lower the gauze to see them, but he did it readily and thanked me afterward.

I don’t know about you but if I had been twice attacked by a leopard, I would not have been so brave!

Dennis was able to sew the wounds closed leaving proper drainage to prevent infection. Please pray he heals both physically and psychologically from this attack. Thanks.

Update: Jan 29 2012
I saw him today and he's healing well. The wound on his head is not septic. Please continue to pray.