Nearly a month after a bull seriously injured this Alamance County, North Carolina, dairyman, Randy Lewis has returned to his fifth-generation operation known as Ran-Lew Dairy.
This weekend, Lewis’ GoFundMe page was updated by Christy Shi Day to say, “Randy asked me to let you know that he has ‘left the hospital and returned to 3978, or in the words of Angeline, to Ran-Lew.”
As well as anyone can figure, on May 7, Lewis was outside working alone at the dairy when he placed a 9-1-1 call on his phone at about 7:50 a.m.
A bull that Lewis had been speaking with one of the dairy’s milkers about getting rid of just an hour before the incident had attacked Lewis, breaking ribs, puncturing both lungs, and breaking bones in his face, back, and collarbone.
Lewis was life-flighted to UNC Hospital, where he eventually received surgery and, like any good farmer, began nagging his milk plant operator Taylor Hayes to let him return to work.
A cornerstone in the community, Lewis is known for his old-fashioned cream-on-top milk, his Appalachian square dances, helping local FFA and 4-H members to learn about dairy farming, and being a wealth of help and knowledge to anyone who needs it.
Since his injury, businesses and individuals have rallied to raise money to keep the dairy open and make inevitable adjustments with Lewis home, but still unable to operate in the same capacity.
On Saturday, The Barn at Lloyd’s Dairy sold 500 plates to benefit Ran-Lew Dairy.
Shortly after his injury, a GoFundMe was also launched to help with not only Lewis’ medical expenses but in an effort to keep one of the last dairies in Alamance County open. As of this publication date, the account has raised $182,091.
