Tourist's finger left hanging off after shark attack in Jamaica
Rachel Smith, 26, was on holiday with her sister when the fish bit through her left hand while swimming in Montego Bay.
Her ring finger was left hanging off as she watched 'blood pour everywhere' before being rushed to the local hospital earlier this month.
She was forced to fly to Ireland - where her parents live - for emergency treatment after doctors on the Caribbean island said the plastic surgeon was not available for two weeks.
Rachel, a pharmacologist from London, admitted: 'There was so much blood coming out I honestly thought I was going to die.
'I was in complete shock. My whole hand went numb so I thought my whole hand had been taken off.'
Doctors at Cork University Hospital in Ireland told Rachel that the tendons and nerves in her ring and little finger were ruptured as well as disconnected ligaments in the ring finger.
Despite the ordeal, with what is believed to have been a reef shark, Rachel said: 'I feel grateful to be alive and so grateful to have my hand.
'I have a long road of recovery ahead but I have a positive attitude and I believe I will get through it.'
She is hoping to regain movement in the next 18 months but has since been suffering from nightmares.
Her sister Lisa, who led Rachel out of the water and warned others to stay away, has also been 'terrified' ever since the attack on May 8.
'I honestly thought her fingers were gone - there was blood everywhere,' the 28-year-old said.
'At one point a vein burst and sprayed blood all over both of us. We were just crying and thinking she was going to die.'
She said the shark knocked both of them over with its body before taking a swipe at Lisa despite the flag on the beach indicating it was safe to swim.
She said: 'There were two young kids swimming by the rope, it's lucky it wasn't them.'
The sisters, who travel together every year, were planning to stay at the Hilton Rose hotel for two weeks.
Lisa added: 'I'm just so glad and grateful that she's alive.'
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