Mum speaks out after shark ripped off her hand when she tried to punch it in the nose during horror attack
A shark attack survivor whose hand was ripped off after trying to defend herself has lived to tell the story.
Elisabeth Foley was swimming around in the ocean with her husband and three children on Watersound Beach when the terrifying incident took place in Florida last month.
In an interview with digital creator Rick Karle, Elisabeth explained that it was around one o'clock when the water suddenly went up to her chest and she noticed 'something dark'.
Initially, she started to swim away because she thought it was a stingray.
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Sadly for the Virginia resident, it turned out to be a shark in between her legs.
"I tried to punch the shark in the nose," said Elisabeth.
"That's when it took my hand."
Explaining how she was attacked in front of her children - Laurel, 17, Lyla, 15 and Dominick, 13 - the mum added: "As I was struggling underwater, I prayed to God and asked him to let me live.
"I told him that this would be my testimony.
"Somehow I resurfaced as the shark swam away.
"Ryan carried me to shore, and I fought to stay conscious.
"I was fighting to stay alive for my family."
Elisabeth has now undergone 18 surgeries after losing her hand in the shark attack.
She also suffered critical injuries to her backside and thighs.
The mum-of-three said: "The further I get away from the day of the attack, the more I realize my life is now different, yet blessed.
"I am mourning what I lost, but my support system at Winn Baptist Church is amazing, and that helps me a great deal.
"I was laying in a hospital bed without a hand and fighting pain, when my youngest child Dominick looked at me and smiled.
"He said: 'You are so beautiful, mom - I love you so much'.
"To think a 13-year-old kid would look into his mother's eyes and tell her she is beautiful...without a hand..."
Her husband Rick said: "It was the first time our family had been to Watersound Beach in Walton County, Florida. We had been invited there by our good friends.
"Lis is very athletic. She's run several marathons and she's a good swimmer- she just loves the water.
"At first, I loaded my three children into the suburban and I was ready to drive to a hospital that I had no address.
"The sheriffs told me they were flying her to one of two area trauma centers- one was an hour this way and the other was an hour that way.
"All this while my kids were seeing their Mom being loaded into an ambulance."
At the time of writing, the family's fundraiser has raised $112,271 out of a $250,000 goal.
Click on the following link if you would like to donate - Supporting Elisabeth Foley & The Foley Family
Topics: Sharks, Shark Attacks, US News
Anish Vij