A young girl from Texas found herself in a harrowing encounter with a barracuda while she was swimming in the pristine waters of Turks and Caicos.
Thirteen-year-old Claire Macdonel from Sugar Land, a suburb of Houston, was enjoying a handstand in the shallow waters on July 19, marking the onset of what was meant to be an idyllic vacation. Suddenly, she felt an unfamiliar ‘pressure’ in her hand, breaking the tranquility of their first full day of vacation.
Emerging above the surface, Claire was met with the shocking sight of her hand bleeding profusely from multiple wounds. As she glanced back, she caught a fleeting glimpse of the barracuda darting away, a creature she later whimsically dubbed Susie.
“I saw my hand bleeding a lot, and I said, ‘Mom, something bit me. I don’t know what to do,'” Claire recounted in a conversation with Fox News.
Her mother, Jen Macdonel, initially feared the worst. “I thought she was going to bleed out. I’ve never seen that much blood, and I couldn’t get it to stop even with the tourniquet when we were in the ambulance,” she shared with Fox 26 Houston.
Luckily, a nurse, whom Jen described as an ‘angel’, was swimming nearby and used a towel to make a makeshift tourniquet while they waited for an ambulance to arrive.
On top of having to navigate the medical system of a foreign country, Jen recalled being terrified that her daughter would lose her hand.
Once they reached the hospital, the orthopedic surgeon said he was more worried about preventing infection and getting the teen stabilized.
Claire Macdonel, 13, of Sugar Land, was bitten by a barracuda while doing a handstand in the ocean off the coast of Turks and Caicos
It severed several ligaments and a nerve, which required surgery when she returned to Texas
Doctors discovered the barracuda had torn through several ligaments and a nerve, and that Macdonel would eventually need surgery when she returned to Texas.
It did not stop the teen from enjoying her Caribbean vacation, as Jen shared photos with the Daily Mail showing Macdonel lounging on a boat, posing on a beach and feeding the birds with her good hand.
And Macdonel also continued to enjoy the water while she was there, saying there’s always ‘risk’ when it comes to enjoying the ocean.
The teen had surgery on Wednesday, where doctors ‘successfully’ repaired four severed tendons, one severed ligament and a severed nerve, her mother, Jen Macdonel, told the Daily Mail.
Her mother said the teen is in ‘great spirits’ as she recovers at home in Texas.
‘She’s a trooper!’ she said.
Looking back, Macdonel now believes her shiny bracelet may have been the cause of the barracuda attack.
‘Take off all your jewelry before you go into the water,’ the aspiring marine biologist told Fox 26 Houston.
But she didn’t let the attack hamper her vacations in the Caribbean. Once her hand was stabilized, she still enjoyed all the island had to offer
Luckily, a nurse was swimming nearby when she was attack, who helped make a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding. Her mother called the woman an ‘angel’
The attack did not stop Macdonel, who wants to be a marine biologist, from enjoying the water
She now believes her shiny bracelet may have been what attracted the barracuda (stock image)
Despite the horrifying event, Macdonel is already planning their next trip to the island, which is a family favorite, Jen told Fox News.
Claire added: ‘Ever since I got this bite, it has actually made me want to discover the ocean even more. I’m even more curious about what’s inside the ocean and what behavior it has.’
‘I’ve always loved marine life, even if it’s scary fish. I’ve always been curious about them.’