“Sometimes you hear people say they see their whole life going by at this moment,” says Emily Osborne Smith. “I didn’t have it. I didn’t think. I just wanted to break free.”
From a hospital bed in Zambia, she recounts the attack:
Amelie was visiting her grandmother in Zambia as part of an off year, her father Brent told the British newspaper the sun. Last week, she and other students went on a rafting trip on the Zambezi River, near the famous Victoria Falls.
During the lunch break, the guides encouraged the students to swim and relax in what they believed to be safe waters. The group did and there was nothing wrong at first glance, but when Amelie got back in the boat, things went wrong and an alligator grabbed her by the foot.
three meters
“She bravely resisted and did everything she could to avoid being dragged,” Brent said. From the boat, the others tried to distract the ten-foot crocodile. “Because of the quick actions of everyone on board, the crocodile aborted the attack and Amelie was soon dragged aboard.”
She was taken by helicopter to the nearest hospital, where she had a disfigured lower leg, a dislocated hip and a nearly drooping leg. There she received first aid. He was then transferred to a larger hospital in the capital. “She kept calm the whole time and didn’t shed a tear,” her father says.
‘A lot of luck’
She underwent surgery several times in the hospital. In the end, the doctors were able to save her foot. Something you would never have thought of before. “I’ve already accepted right now that I’m going to lose my foot. I thought I’d never be able to walk again. I was so lucky.”
Over the next few days, Amelie will be back in the UK for further surgeries. “She is in severe shock and is on medication. In the coming days we will find out how she really is.”
