A Virginia girl who misplaced her hand in a shark assault in Florida is crowdfunding for a prosthetic after her insurance coverage denied protection. Elisabeth Foley, 45, from Ashland, was critically injured within the June seventh assault.
“Abruptly I seemed behind me and noticed this factor that seemed like a torpedo,” Foley advised Boston 25. She spent years in Massachusetts earlier than transferring to Virginia. “It was an enormous mass.”
She tried to kick on the shark, and that is when she first felt the pain-the shark had attacked her decrease leg, the Impartial reported.
Foley recalled studying about punching a shark to drive it away. As she started swinging, the shark dragged her underwater, and she or he feared for her life.
When she resurfaced, she realised her hand was gone.
The assault left Foley requiring in depth medical care, together with the amputation of her left mid-forearm and therapy for accidents to her midsection. She spent 60 days within the hospital earlier than lastly returning residence two months later.
Regardless of her restoration, Foley continues to endure the aftermath of the assault. She has been suggested to endure a number of surgical procedures to restore nerve harm and reconstructive procedures.
Now, medical consultants suggest a myoelectric prosthetic hand-an superior system that might allow her to carry out extra specialised duties and regain larger performance.
Foley was set to obtain her new prosthetic hand on Christmas Eve, however her insurance coverage firm reportedly refused to cowl the prices, claiming the system was not medically mandatory. The particular insurance coverage supplier was not disclosed.
“It felt like a punch within the intestine as a result of I simply wish to get again to regular,” Foley advised NBC Boston.
Decided to maneuver ahead, Foley started fundraising and launched a GoFundMe marketing campaign to boost $73,000 to cowl the price of the prosthesis. As of Thursday, the marketing campaign had reached 81% of its aim, with over $59,260 raised.
“Elisabeth’s medical group has strongly really useful a myoelectric prosthetic hand, a specialised system that’s powered by the residual muscle groups within the arm sending alerts to the system which causes the prosthetic wrist and hand to carry out specialised duties,” the web page learn.
“With out this hand, Elisabeth faces a future marked by restricted expertise, stunted mobility and a diminished high quality of life.”