ELOY, AZ — A man is home and recovering after being stung more than 250 times by killer bees in Florence recently.
60-year-old John Fisher and his dog, Pippin, were attacked by a swarm of thousands of bees on Saturday outside Fischer's home.
Surveillance video shows police initially arriving at the scene and attempting to make their way to Fisher. The officers have to turn around quickly and get back in their vehicle because the swarm began attacking them as well.
Firefighters showed up a short time later and foamed Fischer and the bees.
Fisher was taken to the hospital for several days but has since been released.
Fischer's dog was also stung more than 50 times but is recovering at home.
“My mouth area is all swollen. There were literally thousands. At least a thousand on me and thousands flying around in the area,” Fisher told ABC15.
He was riding his wheelchair-exercise bike with his dog, Pippin, like he usually does.
“My dog was tied to the front of the wheelchair with his leash,” said Fisher.
Toward the end of his hike, when Fisher was about one minute away from home, he heard a buzzing sound.
“I started swatting at it. Bad idea because next thing I knew we were surrounded by all these bees,” he added.
Experts say here’s what you should do when there's a swarm of bees near you, “You’re going to get hit on your arms, your legs, or whatever, but if you just cover up your face, cover up your ears, that’s what you want to protect the most,” said Brad Olsen, owner of Urban Desert Pest Control.
Other advice is to get inside as soon as possible or run in a straight line away from the bees.
Though, that wasn’t possible for Fisher.
He did cover up though, which may have helped save his life. “I feel lucky that I walked away from it,” he added.
While Pippin was on the up and up, Fisher tells us he has taken a turn for the worse.
He’s started a GoFundMe to help with life-saving vet expenses.
