‘Without this hand, Elisabeth faces a future marked by limited skills, stunted mobility, and a diminished quality of life’. A Virginia woman who lost her hand after defending herself in a savage shark attack in Florida is desperately raising money to pay for a prosthetic hand - after insurance denied to pay for a new limb.
Elisabeth Foley, 45, from Ashland, Virginia, was critically wounded in an attack along Florida’s Gulf Coast on June 7. She tried to kick at the shark, which is when she said she felt pain. The shark had attacked her lower leg first. Foley remembered reading about punching a shark to make it go away. As she started to swing, the shark pulled her underwater and she thought she was going to die.
When she returned to the water, she saw her hand was gone. The shark attack left her needing rigorous medical treatment including the amputation of her left mid forearm and treatment to her midsection. She spent 60 days in the hospital and managed to return home two months after the atrocity.
However, Foley continues to face repercussions from the attack and was advised to undergo numerous surgeries to repair her nerves, as well as reconstructive surgery. Now, medical professionals have advised her to get a myoelectric prosthetic hand – an advanced prosthesis that will allow her to perform more specialized tasks.
