‘I’m just thankful to be here’: Hanover mother of 3 gives recovery update after shark attack

Feb 7, 2025 - 03:00

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‘I’m just thankful to be here’: Hanover mother of 3 gives recovery update after shark attack

HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Elizabeth Foley, a Hanover County mother of three, is demonstrating remarkable strength and determination after surviving a shark attack in Walton County, Florida last summer.

On June 7, 2024, Foley and her family were swimming in the ocean on South Walton Beach when the day took a sharp turn.

“I just happened to look behind me and I saw this incredibly large mass,” Foley said. “So I started kicking, swimming towards the shore -- and immediately I felt this searing pain between my legs. The shark had bitten me.”

With her husband, Ryan, and their three children still in the water and the shark nearby, Foley’s instincts took over.

(Photos: Elizabeth Foley)

"I took a deep breath and I balled up my fist and I went underwater and I punched at it, because I had read that sharks have a sensitive spot on their nose -- and so I punched it the nose," Foley said. "And then it grabbed me by my hand and pulled me further underwater."

As a result of the incident, Foley needed her non-dominant lower left arm amputated. She faced a long road to recovery -- one involving dozens of surgeries.

But Foley's spirit remains strong, bolstered by the support of her family and community.

(Photos: Elizabeth Foley)

"Mentally, I'm doing a lot better," Foley said.

Everyday tasks, like washing dishes or folding laundry, look a little different for Foley now.

"I've come to terms with it," she said. "I've accepted that this is my new body, and I'm just thankful to be here. And I didn't put conditions on how I would live. It was just that I wanted to live.”

(Photos: Elizabeth Foley)

Foley has undergone 26 surgeries to repair her left limb, pelvic area, left buttock, and right thigh. Her recent Targeted Muscle Reinnervation (TMR) surgery -- which she underwent two weeks ago at VCU Health -- was a crucial step toward getting a myoelectric prosthetic. Surgeons connected nerves in her left limb to existing muscle, paving the way for a fitting in March.

"It [a myoelectric prosthetic] looks like a robot hand -- it has fingers, and it is controlled by nerve impulses," Foley said. "It will help me do my hair -- I have to have my daughters help me with my hair. Just little things that we don't think about."

The community has stepped up in a big way, raising over $80,000 through a GoFundMe to help pay for the electric prosthetic and its ongoing maintenance.

Foley pictured with her husband, Ryan, and three children. (Photos: Elizabeth Foley)

“It's just amazing the community, what they have done,” Foley said.

Foley hopes her story will be a source of light for others facing hard times.

“If you can dig deep and be strong, you can find the nuggets of good that will come out of your tragedy,” she said. “And I certainly am a testimony to that.”

A ceremony will be held in South Walton Beach on Saturday, Feb. 8, where Foley will thank the first responders who helped her and two other victims during the shark attacks on June 7, 2024.