A dream holiday in Jamaica quickly turned into a nightmare for 26-year-old Rachel Smith, who was bitten by a shark while swimming off Rose Hall Beach in Montego Bay. The incident happened on the morning of May 8, just three days into Rachel and her sister Lisa’s two-week stay at the Hilton Rose Hall Hotel.
Rachel, a pharmacologist from Newham, London, was enjoying the shallow, waist-high water when the shark suddenly struck. In a moment of terror, she realised her ring finger was barely attached, and blood poured from the deep wound. Lisa, 28, a procurement specialist, spotted the metre-long shark swimming away and rushed to pull her sister from the water, warning others nearby to get out.
The sisters say they were inside a roped-off area designated as safe for swimming, with the beach flag raised to indicate it was safe to enter the water. Despite that, the shark managed to get close enough to attack.
Rachel was transported to a hospital by ambulance. Upon examining her, doctors told her she needed plastic surgery. However, there was no surgeon available, and she was informed that it would take around two weeks before they could see one.
The sisters then decided to return to Ireland, where their parents live, for treatment. Rachel underwent emergency surgery at Cork University Hospital, where doctors discovered her tendons and nerves were severed and the ligaments in her finger were damaged. She’s now on a long road to recovery, hoping to regain full movement in about 18 months.
The sisters faced additional challenges in Jamaica, including a US$2,000 bill at a private hospital just to stitch the wound and a staggering US$25,000 quote for further surgery. They also had to cover expenses such as ambulance and taxi rides to the hospital and pay for a certificate approving that they were in good shape to fly home, all of which amounted to nearly US$500.
Reflecting on the ordeal, Rachel said she felt the private hospital was more focused on payment than care. The sisters say they’ve been haunted by nightmares since the attack.