(NewsNation) — A woman from Massachusetts owes nearly $21,000 in medical bills after an unexpected bat encounter while on vacation in Arizona.

Erica Kahn was vacationing in Northern Arizona last August when a bat got trapped between her and her camera while she was photographing the night sky.

When Kahn screamed, the bat partially flew into her mouth.

Bats are one of the major rabies vectors, in part because their bite is small enough to go unnoticed. Because rabies is nearly 100% fatal once symptoms begin, anyone who interacts with a bat or finds one in their home needs to get postexposure rabies vaccines as soon as possible.

But Kahn was recently unemployed and had decided not to get COBRA coverage to extend the plan offered by her previous employer because of the cost and the fact t

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