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An Alaska mother-of-three has revealed the extent of her devastating injuries eight months after she was mauled by a bear just steps from her home while heading out for a morning run.
Ariean Fabrizio Colton, who had moved to Kenai only weeks earlier, says she remembers almost nothing from the moment the attack began – only that she started her run, and then everything went blank.
‘I don’t remember much,’ Colton said. ‘I know I started my watch to start the run. And after that, it’s – I’m sure it happened right after I just hit start.’
Authorities said the attack happened between 5:00 and 5:30am on August 26, 2025, near her driveway in a residential neighborhood.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers later said a bear came from a nearby property, mauled her and dragged her roughly 100 yards down the road.
Colton, a wife and mother of three, survived – but with life-altering injuries.
Colton suffered trauma to her spine, hip and back, broken ribs, and extensive road rash from being dragged.
She also sustained a traumatic brain injury to the left side of her brain and a brain bleed on the right. The attack also left her vision permanently impaired in one eye.
Ariean Fabrizio Colton was attacked by a bear on August 26, 2025, near her home in Kenai, Alaska. The attack happened between around 5am as she stepped out for a morning run
Colton is a mother of three. She says her husband and children have been central to her recovery. She said the trauma of the attack affected her entire family, not just her
‘I am blind, blindish in this eye,’ Colton said, pointing to her left eye. ‘So, the visual is impaired and I’ve had a lot of reconstruction on my [orbital bone] and just how, yeah, everything is placed. They’ve done pretty good,’ she told Alaska’s News Source.
After the attack, Colton was rushed to Providence Hospital in Anchorage, where she underwent emergency treatment.
She remained unconscious for five days, spent two weeks in the ICU, and ultimately stayed hospitalized for a full month.
‘My injuries were serious, requiring emergent surgery and interventions,’ she later wrote online, together with a GoFundMe to help raise funds to pay for treatment.
She has since undergone multiple surgeries, including procedures at the Mayo Clinic, and is preparing for yet another operation.
Much of the past year has been consumed by doctor visits, occupational therapy, and ongoing rehabilitation.
‘The recovery was slow and frustrating as I relearned many of the basic functions I have always taken for granted and learned to live with new limitations,’ she shared in an Instagram post.
Colton says the trauma rippled through her entire family with her husband and children forced to confront the aftermath of an attack that nearly took her life.
Colton was unconscious for five days after being med-evaced to Providence Hospital in Anchorage
Colton suffered injuries to her spine, hip and back during the mauling. She also sustained broken ribs and extensive road rash from being dragged Her vision was permanently impaired in her left eye following the attack
Since the attack, she has undergone multiple surgeries, including treatment at the Mayo Clinic
Colton is now documenting her recovery publicly and plans to continue sharing her progress through her platform ‘Ariean’s 101st Yard’
‘That’s one thing I didn’t realize that when you go through a trauma, it’s the people all around you go through it as well,’ she said.
‘We were working on our mental health and just being there for each other. And they’re doing pretty well. Just walking outside, I think is hard for all of us, but we’re working on just enjoying the outdoors and trying to make it through.’
‘Kind of the motto in our family is the 101st yard,’ Colton said. ‘I was just able to get up and my family and my kids, my husband, they really pushed me through and I’m just, I’m just blessed to be here, and I just want to be here for them as well.’
That phrase is a reference to the chilling detail investigators shared: that she had been dragged roughly 100 yards.
The 101st yard became symbolic – the moment she survived.
Now, Colton is using that message to reach others and through her social media platform, ‘Ariean’s 101st Yard,’ she is documenting the raw reality of recovery.
‘You might have seen my story on the news. It became a national story because it was really random, it was the first attack on the Kenai Peninsula within city limits that anyone could remember,’ she wrote. ‘All I did was step outside my house to go for a run. After that, I don’t remember much else.’
She credits her survival to the quick actions of others.
Colton is seen alongside her husband during one of the family’s outdoor trips
Her recovery has involved ongoing occupational therapy and regular medical appointments
The family adopted the phrase ‘the 101st yard’ as a shared motto symbolizing her survival. Colton said her goal now is to be present for her children after surviving the attack
‘I am so blessed that I have such a strong community around me. Thanks to the quick actions of my neighbor and first responders, I was able to get quickly med-evaced to Providence Hospital in Anchorage.’
And now, she says, she wants to show what comes next – the part few people ever see.
‘People hear about bear attacks, but you rarely see what comes after. I want to change that.
‘So many of us are going through really hard things, and it can be an incredibly lonely place,’ she wrote. ‘I’ve had so many people reach out asking how I’m doing and how recovery is going, so I decided to create one place to share that journey.’
‘I didn’t choose this, but I do get to choose what I do with it. And this account is my attempt to make something good out of what happened and to share what real recovery actually looks like.
‘I just really want to encourage women … and other people like scars and the way you look on your face is not really what, it’s not the true beauty that we all have,’ she said.
‘Just being kind and reaching out to people and just connecting with people is something that I just want to accomplish and be able to just help people and talk to them and yeah, it’s not about our looks, it’s just about how we spread kindness and joy.’
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