Magpie attacks woman working abroad and leaves her with a broken neck: Photo

A woman was attacked by a magpie while working abroad.

Marcela Montalva moved to Ravenswood, a small and remote town in the Australian Outback, from Chile about four months ago. She had been in the country on a temporary working holiday visa, which allows a user to travel and work to fund their explorations.

“I came here full of dreams, ready to work hard, explore this beautiful country and enjoy its incredible landscape and culture, always respecting the environment and giving my best,” she wrote GoFundMe.

But on October 15, during one of her days off, something unexpected happened to Montalva as she cycled to a nearby post office.

“Halfway there I was suddenly attacked by a magpie, lost control of the bike and fell hard on the road, hitting my left side on the concrete,” she said. “I lost consciousness and later woke up in the mine’s medical unit. From there I had to be airlifted to Townsville University Hospital because I was in a very remote area.”

When they arrived at the hospital, doctors determined that the colorful bird – which belongs to the same family as crows and jackdaws – had left a number of injuries, including multiple fractures to Montalva’s left cheekbone and a rare fracture of the hyoid bone in her neck.

“Doctors told me I was lucky to be alive,” Montalva emphasized. “Unfortunately, my travel insurance has refused to cover any medical or surgical costs, claiming that the initial report stated that I was found without a helmet.”

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Montalva has since raised about $7,820 to cover the medical and surgical costs needed to have facial reconstruction surgery that will restore her ability to eat and speak properly.

“I never imagined something like this could happen to me,” the woman said.

“I always try to be safe, but I could never have predicted that a bird attack would lead to such a serious accident,” she added.