‘I really thought I was going to die’: Former Mass. resident loses arm in shark attack

BOSTON — It was a glorious day on the Gulf Coast -- perfect for relaxing in the ocean. And then, for a former Massachusetts resident, it turned into a fight for survival.

Elisabeth Foley, formerly of Mansfield, was vacationing with her family along the Florida Panhandle last June. As on previous days, she, her husband and their three teenaged children took to the water.

“All of a sudden I looked behind me and saw this thing that looked like a torpedo,” Foley said. “It was a huge mass.”

There was no torpedo surging towards her. It was a shark.

Foley didn’t know what it was at the time, but the approaching object was so ominous that she moved to get out of its way.

“I started kicking towards the shore and I immediately felt this searing pain,” she said.

The shark had attacked her lower body, badly damaging tissue there. Foley, fearing it might attack her children, fought back.

“I remembered that if you punch a shark in the nose that’s a vulnerable spot and it will go away,” she said. “I pulled back with my left hook and punched as hard as I could. The shark grabbed me by the hand and pulled me underwater. And I really thought I was going to die. And I prayed that God would spare my life.”

Moments later, Foley resurfaced. But when she brought her left arm above the surface she saw four inches of exposed bone where her hand used to be.

Family members and bystanders helped get Foley to shore and from there to a fire station, where she was airlifted to a nearby medical center. She was later transported to a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, close to where she lives.

In the six months since the attack, Foley has undergone 25 surgeries, with at least five more pending.

Foley was outfitted with a crude prosthesis that allows limited function. The hook-like structure opens and closes based on movements of her shoulder -- but it was supposed to be a temporary fix.

Foley was in line to receive a high-tech replacement arm that responds to electrical impulses from the body. It would allow her to engage in activities requiring fine motor function -- including returning to the job she held before the attack as a Starbucks barista.

“I was supposed to get the arm Christmas Eve,” she said. “It was going to be the best Christmas present ever.”

But two weeks before Christmas, Foley got the bad news: her insurance company refused to pay for the new arm -- saying it was medically unnecessary.

It’s also very expensive. Foley said the price tag is $73,000 -- more than her family can afford. So they’ve set up a GoFundMe page in the hope the public might help.

In the meantime, Foley said she is counting her blessings and she is grateful to be alive.

“My family is lucky that I’m still around and able to do as much as I am able to do with the body that I have,” she said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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