What would you do if you were inches away from perishing?
A group of young wrestlers was trekking through the wilderness, not knowing they’d face the direst and most terrifying fight they’d ever experienced.
But through the ordeal, these young men forged and proved friendship knows no bounds and limits.
Kendell Cummings and Brady Lowry became fast friends.
They are wrestling teammates at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.
And even if they’ve just known each other for several weeks, they quickly became close.
At one point, Lowry shared with Cummings and their two other teammates about a “business venture” that could score them a lot of money.
Lowry invited the group to hunt for shedding.
Shed hunting is an enterprise where people scavenge antler sheds from the previous season.
A full antler can score anyone a couple of hundred dollars which made it attractive to college students like Lowry and Cummings.
Together with their friends, they trekked through Yellowstone National Park.
Unbeknownst to them, it was a trip that would change their lives forever.
As they were walking, Lowry stepped on a pile of animal dung.
Unfortunately, the pile was fresh, which just meant one thing.
Lowry couldn’t even finish his sentence before a 500-pound bear came barreling toward him.
Lowry was quickly downed, and the bear began tearing through him.
The bear got his left arm and shook him around.
Seeing his friend in danger, Cummings tried distracting the bear.
He threw stuff at it, from sticks to stones.
When it didn’t work, he just thought of throwing something at the bear that she couldn’t ignore – himself.
His plan succeeded.
The bear left Lowry alone.
However, it now turned its attention to Cummings.
Lowry ran to their two friends. But things were getting worse for Cummings.
At one point, the bear bit his head.
Fortunately, as Cummings lay limp, the bear lost interest and went on its way.
This gave Cummings a small window to crawl away toward where his friends were.
Their injuries were severe.
They had broken bones, and Cummings even had puncture wounds on his skull.
Seeing them bathed in their blood, one would think they hadn’t survived.
Then, a miracle happened.
Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was how their bodies are programmed, but the two wrestlers made a full recovery.
According to ESPN, Lowry sprang back stronger that he even made it to the local tournament.
He has a final record of 5-6 in the competition, and that’s impressive, considering he was attacked by a bear just months before.
Meanwhile, Cummings continued to recover.
They also went back into the wilderness to hunt for shedding, and through that trip, they made the biggest victories of their lives – getting over the trauma and cementing a friendship that will last a lifetime.
“We become best friends going to hell and back with each other. Seeing someone sweat and bleed … coach teaches us that. You aren’t going to leave a brother behind,” Lowry told CNN.
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