Bees still swarm North Richland Hills home, resident in ICU

Bees are still swarming around a North Richland Hills home on Wednesday, after attacking the couple who lives there on Tuesday.

As beekeepers try to move the hive, one victim is still recovering in the Intensive Care Unit.

“He can answer with his head, yes or no," said 74-year-old Patricia Byrns of her 72-year-old partner, Lonnie Dorsey.

She said although he's still on assisted breathing and medical staff is still picking out stingers from his body, he is doing much better and, she hopes, will come home Thursday.

“They cleaned him all up this morning. His swelling’s gone down, he’s breathing good," Byrns told NBC 5 after visiting with Dorsey Wednesday afternoon.

She was treated and released after being stung, too.

“I was freaking yesterday, and that’s not me," Byrns said.

She said she was inside her home Tuesday afternoon as Dorsey was mowing the lawn.

“I kept hearing the same sound and it sounded like a groan," Byrns said.

She looked outside and noticed Dorsey on the ground.

“He was covered in bees like a carpet had been put over his whole top part. Millions—thousands, I’d hate to count," she said.

Byrns said she knew her partner was allergic to bees, and tried to save him but ran back inside after getting stung, too.

“I just hoped God would take care of him," she said.

A neighbor quickly called 911.

“I don’t even know her and I still have to meet her and thank her," Byrns said.

Bees still swarmed around the front lawn on Wednesday. Beekeeper Jess Lawson with Lawson Honey Farm said they spent a total of 11 hours on Tuesday trying to clear out the bees from inside the tree and coax them into a hive box.

“A lot of it is getting the bees to communicate with one another to say, ‘Our home is no longer this tree, our home is this new hive box.’ Once that message is relayed through the colony, all the bees will move down to that hive box," Lawson explained.

She said Tuesday night, it looked like there were still a lot of bees who hadn't gotten that message.

"There was a lot of bees that were still very confused, so we don’t want to take the hive box away and leave those 200-300 bees to go crazy," Lawson said.

She said they will continue to monitor through Wednesday night and hope the hive box will be ready to move to the countryside in 48 hours.

Lawson also recommended that the tree be chopped down-- she said they used a chainsaw to cut through more of the tree Tuesday night and discovered bees had hollowed out some branches, too. She worried the integrity of the tree is now compromised.

Byrns said she still doesn't know what agitated the bees, but she knows Dorsey won't be doing any more lawnmowing.

She said theirs is not a sad story, but could have been, if not for her helpful hive.

“I, today, feel better. And it’s because of Lonnie, mainly, but it’s because of all you beautiful people who were here yesterday," Byrns said.

She hopes others use their story to be more cautious of hives and have a professional remove them before they become harmful.

“If you know, we save one life, we’ve done it all," Byrns said.