Dramatic minutes on Montego Bay beach
A beach holiday in Jamaica turned into a nightmare for a 26-year-old British woman: Rachel Smith was attacked by a shark while bathing off Rose Hall Beach in Montego Bay in early May. The young pharmacologist from Newham, England, was in waist-deep water with her sister Lisa when the incident occurred.
“Suddenly we were thrown through the air,” Rachel described the dramatic seconds to the US magazine People. Shortly afterwards, she noticed that her ring finger on her left hand was missing. “I was in complete shock. My hand was numb – I thought I had lost it completely.”
Lisa Smith reacted quickly: She pulled her sister out of the water and alerted other bathers. “There was blood everywhere. I really thought her fingers were completely gone,” Lisa said in an interview with the British Daily Mail. “At one point, a vein burst, and blood spurted all over both of us. We were just crying and thinking she was going to die.”
Emergency surgery in Ireland – long road to recovery
Rachel initially received medical treatment in Jamaica. However, as there was no plastic surgeon available locally, she had to travel to Ireland for specialist treatment. At Cork University Hospital, doctors diagnosed torn tendons and nerves in her ring and little fingers, as well as damaged ligaments.
Despite the severe injuries, Rachel was lucky in her misfortune: She was able to keep her hand and now hopes to largely regain mobility within the next 18 months.
“I’m just grateful to be alive – and even more grateful that I was able to keep my hand,” she said. “The road to full recovery will be long, but I’m optimistic and believe I can do it.”
