Dina Rae Spann, a 58-year-old mother, is recovering in hospital after an alligator tore off her arm during a family outing on Florida's Silver River on Saturday. Her son, Zach Guerrina, revealed that despite the severity of her injuries, she remained 'calm as a cucumber' throughout the ordeal and is now making jokes about the incident.
Attack and Injuries
The alligator dragged Spann underwater, causing such severe damage to her right arm that it had to be amputated below the elbow. She also lost part of the ring finger on her left hand. Guerrina, 38, said his mother is still receiving hospital treatment and may need several more operations.
'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 story,"' he said. 'I'm pretty proud of her.'
Rescue Efforts
Guerrina had left his mother floating in the river with two teenage relatives and his brother's girlfriend shortly before the attack. Spann was at the front of the group when the reptile approached. 'The gator came towards her and she tried to shoo it away with a stick and it attacked her,' he told the New York Post.
Spann fought back, trying to hold the alligator's mouth shut while swimming to the surface for air and protecting her legs. '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.'
Paddleboarder Mike Head attempted to fight off the alligator after seeing it move 'like a missile' toward Spann. Boater John Gamache, who was eating lunch with his father, heard cries for help and sped toward the swimmers, scaring the alligator away. Spann's bikini top was wrapped around her damaged arm, and rescuers reinforced the makeshift tourniquet with anchor rope.
Gamache described 'bones poking out' and 'blood everywhere' as the group pulled Spann aboard. He and his father collected the other swimmers and took them to a boat launch where emergency workers were waiting.
Context and Aftermath
Swimming is prohibited in the Silver River, though boating and kayaking are allowed. The reason Spann and others entered the water remains unclear. Guerrina suggested that tourists feeding and getting too close to alligators have made them less wary of people, though this has not been confirmed as the cause. He recalled that alligators he encountered while growing up were normally timid.
'It absolutely causes them to approach, when they feel like there is no threat,' he said. 'I grew up camping the Oklawaha with my mom and my dad since I was a kid. We spend almost every other weekend on the water.'
Guerrina said his family is relieved the younger swimmers escaped without injury. He has called for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to issue more permits allowing large alligators to be hunted. Trappers caught and removed a 9ft 8in alligator from the area on Sunday, and Marion County officials reopened the river afterward.
Spann faces further treatment and a lengthy recovery, but her family says she remains herself. 'She lost her right arm and one finger on the left, but she's strong,' Guerrina said. 'She's good. She's making jokes now – she's just herself.'
