Florida Woman Shares Upbeat Update After Gruesome Alligator Attack

A Florida woman who survived a brutal alligator attack that resulted in the amputation of her left arm and a portion of her right hand is sharing her recovery journey with a remarkably positive attitude.

Dina Spann, 58, was on a family boating trip in the Silver River in Marion County on August 5 when a 9-foot alligator attacked her while she was swimming in a restricted area with two teenage relatives. Spann fought back against the reptile, ultimately losing her left forearm and the ring finger of her right hand.

"Recovery isn't always pretty," Spann wrote in a Facebook post a week after her surgery. "But I'm learning to laugh through the hard parts and celebrate every little victory."

A video diary shows Spann in the hospital, dressed in a kaftan, undergoing X-rays and consulting with medical professionals. Her bandaged left arm, now amputated, and stitches on her right hand were visible. She added, "The gator got a piece of me. It didn't get the best of me."

Her son, Zach Guerrina, told The New York Post that his mother attempted to fight off the alligator with a stick before it attacked. He described her arm as "hanging by a thread" and emphasized her efforts to protect the teenagers swimming nearby. "She wasn’t just letting it happen," Guerrina said. "She was trying to hold its mouth shut, swimming to the top to get a breath of fresh air and keep it from biting on her legs."

John Gamache, who was on a nearby boat with his father, witnessed the attack and described the scene as "a terrible injury, bones poking out, blood everywhere." Gamache assisted in taking Spann and her family to the nearest boat launch. Bystanders also provided aid, using an anchor rope and bathing suit top to help stem the bleeding from Spann's arm.

Guerrina expressed pride in his mother's resilience, noting her calm demeanor during the traumatic event and her current outlook. "She’s not looking at it like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t have an arm,’ she’s looking at it like, this is a crazy f**king story."

Following the incident, Spann's husband urged the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to permit the removal of large alligators. The alligator involved in the attack was captured and removed, and the river was subsequently reopened to the public.

This attack follows other recent alligator-related incidents in Florida, including the death of a hiker in June and an 11-year-old boy who lost his hand in a separate attack the same month.