Claire MacDonel was bitten in the hand by a barracuda while swimming in Turks and Caicos on July 19, and the 13-year-old Texas teen later underwent surgery for severe left-hand injuries. The bite severed a nerve, several tendons and one ligament, but she is expected to regain full use of her hand.
MacDonel said she was doing a handstand in the water when she felt pressure midway through the move. She then saw blood pouring down her arm and told her mother, “Mom. I don't know what to do, my hand's bleeding, something bit me.”
Jen MacDonel in Turks and Caicos
Jen MacDonel rushed to get her daughter out of the water after the bite. “There was so much blood, so I just got to her as quickly as I could, got her out of the water to the shoreline,” she said. A nurse who was nearby used a towel to make a tourniquet while they waited for first responders.
MacDonel said she first thought a shark had attacked her after she looked back and saw “a big silver-like tail.” Great barracuda attacks on humans are rare, and they often happen when the fish mistakes shiny objects for prey. Divers Alert Network advises swimmers and divers to avoid wearing shiny jewelry in areas where barracudas are present.
Claire MacDonel in the water
MacDonel said a bracelet she was wearing may have caught the barracuda's attention. She also said, “My biggest fear was losing my hand,” after the injury that left her bleeding in the water.
The surgery took place in Texas on July 29, and MacDonel said she is not angry about the attack. “I feel like there's always going to be risk in the ocean. It is their home. I'm not mad,” she said, adding that she plans to keep swimming in the ocean and still hopes to become a marine biologist one day.
