Tiffany Johnson, 34, was snorkelling off Paradise Island in the Bahamas when her arm was ripped off by a huge shark. Ms Johnson was with her husband James Johnson on a cruise ship holiday when the horrific attack took place. Mr Johnson had returned to the boat on his own after falling ill.
His wife assured him that she would follow suit after spending a some more time in the ocean.
But the mother, from North Carolina, was savaged by a shark when she attempted to make her way back to the ship.
The vicious predator clamped its jaws down on the mother’s right arm as she swam underwater.
Her arm was then ripped off at the elbow as she tried to fight it off and swim back to the surface.
Mrs Johnson was then forced to swim back to the ship while elevating her severed arm above the sea.
Once she returned to the ship, her husband tried to wrap her arm up with a beach town as quickly and tightly as possible to limit the amount of blood loss.
The mother-of-three was then rushed to hospital where she underwent surgery that lasted five hours.
The horrific attack took place in June 2017.
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“It was just after he left that I was attacked by a shark and lost my right arm up to my elbow in the water.
“I believe it was a tiger shark after seeing pictures a few months later. The thing I remember distinctly is the eyes.”
She added: “I was able to swim back to the boat with my amputated arm elevated up above the water.
“Once I got to the boat, we used a beach towel as a tourniquet for my arm because there was no medical kit on the boat.
“We were on that boat from the reef to the stop at Paradise Island to the main port for about thirty minutes with no tourniquet and only a beach towel to stop the bleeding.
“Medically, it does not make sense why I am still alive. I didn’t even require a blood transfusion. It was an absolute miracle.”
The mother had her first robotic hand fitted in November 2017, but she was only able to carry out basic tasks.
But she said of her new robotic hand: “This latest version is only a few months old. I can now bend my elbow and touch my head, bring my arm in closer to my body, etc. It functions OK, but it is a process.
“It is heavy and can be uncomfortable at times. But I am thankful to even be on this journey able to learn the process.”