(WSVN) - A woman is sharing her survival story after a day on the beach took a terrifying turn when she nearly lost her life.
Elisabeth Foley, a mom of three, has a harrowing story to tell after she was attacked by a shark.
She is alive today and it’s all thanks to the help of strangers on the beach.
Elisabeth was vacationing with her husband and three teenage kids. They were swimming at Watersound Beach when it happened.
“I just look behind me and I saw this huge dark mass and I was like what is that I knew I wanted to get away from it so I started swimming towards the shore and that’s when he bit me between the legs because I was kicking and I just started screaming,” said Elisabeth.
She tried to punch the shark in the nose.
“I missed the mark he grabbed me by my hand and pulled me under and that’s when I thought I was gonna die and the power of the jaws snapped my hand right off I had about 4 inches of my bone sticking out,” said Elisabeth.
Her 17-year-old daughter, Laurel, witnessed the gruesome attack.
“Her skin was in shreds I mean it looked like special effects,” said Laurel.
Elisabeth’s husband, Ryan, managed to pull her to shore, while a team of beachgoers who also happened to be medical professionals, saw what was happening and rushed over.
“People who didn’t know us just clamored towards us to help us and it was just pretty amazing,” said Ryan.
They called 911 as they approached Elisabeth and Ryan.
“I see blood all over the water. They just got her on the beach, but her hand is missing.”
“Oh my God, oh my God. Her leg, oh God her butt.”
“She’s losing blood very very rapidly. Her lips are losing color. Please, Please we need emergency here now.”
“This is sad. We’re gonna lose her. I’m not kidding. She is losing blood fast.”
The police body cam shows the Good Samaritans who fashioned tourniquets out of beach towels and tee shirts to save Elisabeth’s life while they waited for EMS to arrive.
“We got a tourniquet over here. Lots of pressure there.”
Paramedic Rylee Smith and nurses Abby Juedemann and Bailey Massa say they were enjoying a girl’s beach vacation when they heard Elisabeth’s scream.
“And I was like ‘Uh oh that’s not ok’ and I looked and saw the blood in the water and I looked at them and I said ‘Are y’all ready?’ I know my instincts just kicked in it was like I knew exactly what I needed to do,” said Smith.
Elisabeth reunited with the three women and expressed her gratitude for saving her life that day.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my life that day. I wouldn’t be here talking to you if you hadn’t been there,” said Elisabeth.
Foley underwent 19 surgeries and is trying to get used to having a prosthetic hand. She still needs reconstructive surgery for a bite she suffered near her pelvis.
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