Woman who lost hand fighting off a shark is raising money for a new prosthetic – after insurance refused to pay
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A Virginia woman who lost her hand after defending herself in a savage shark attack in Florida is desperately raising money to pay for a prosthetic hand – after insurance denied to pay for a new limb.
Elisabeth Foley, 45, from Ashland, Virginia, was critically wounded in an attack along Florida’s Gulf Coast on June 7.
“All of a sudden I looked behind me and saw this thing that looked like a torpedo,” Foley told Boston 25 earlier this year. She spent years in Massachusetts before moving to Virginia. “It was a huge mass.”
She tried to kick at the shark, which is when she said she felt pain. The shark had attacked her lower leg first.
Foley remembered reading about punching a shark to make it go away. As she started to swing, the shark pulled her underwater and she thought she was going to die.
When she returned to the water, she saw her hand was gone.
The shark attack left her needing rigorous medical treatment including the amputation of her left mid forearm and treatment to her midsection. She spent 60 days in the hospital and managed to return home two months after the atrocity.
However, Foley continues to face repercussions from the attack and was advised to undergo numerous surgeries to repair her nerves, as well as reconstructive surgery.
Now, medical professionals have advised her to get a myoelectric prosthetic hand – an advanced prosthesis that will allow her to perform more specialized tasks.
Foley was due to receive her new prosthesis on Christmas Eve but her insurance company reportedly denied covering the costs – citing the device was not medically necessary. There was no word on which insurance company her policy was through.
“It was kind of a punch in the gut, because I want to be back to normal,” Foley told NBC Boston.
That started her fundraising efforts and she launched a GoFundMe to raise $73,000 to cover the costs of her new hand. As of Thursday, the goal was 81 percent complete with more than $59,260 raised.
“Elisabeth’s medical team has strongly recommended a myoelectric prosthetic hand, a specialized device that is powered by the residual muscles in the arm sending signals to the device which causes the prosthetic wrist and hand to perform specialized tasks,” the page read.
“Without this hand Elisabeth faces a future marked by limited skills, stunted mobility and a diminished quality of life.”
She is also documenting her recovery on Instagram.
