A 13-year-old girl is recovering after a barracuda bit her hand in shallow water on July 19th during a family birthday vacation in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Claire Macdonel, of Sugar Land, Texas, was doing handstands in about four feet of water when the fish struck her left hand. The attack caused heavy bleeding and lacerated four tendons, a ligament and a nerve. An off-duty nurse on the beach applied a makeshift tourniquet before emergency responders arrived, and hospital staff on island spent about five hours cleaning the wounds to prevent infection. Claire and her family believe the fish may have targeted reflections from the shiny jewelry she wore.
After returning to the Houston area without developing an infection, Claire began preparing for specialized surgery to repair her hand.