Florida Senior Citizen Loses Her Arm In Alligator Attack [Video]

Leesburg, FL – An elderly Florida woman lost her arm in an alligator attack on Wednesday. Carol Hough, 84, was found with a mangled arm in a canal at the Cypress Creek Mobile Home Park. The neighbor who discovered the injured senior citizen was unable to pull her from the canal, but was able to keep her head above water until emergency responders arrived on the horrific scene. Once she was removed from the murky water, she was airlifted to the hospital, WTSP reports.

Doctors at the Orlando Regional Medical Center were unable to save the Leesburg woman’s arm, but she is now stable condition, according to Click Orlando.

The rescuing neighbor, Delmas Zickefoose, had this to say about the alligator attack:

“The only thing she had to say was, ‘Where’s Bob, Where’s Bob? That’s her deceased husband who passed away two to three years ago. I helped her get back over to my dock and just held her there, realizing at that point her arm was gone. Her arm was completely gone.”

A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative noted they initially tried to rush the rescue hoping they could save the arm, but then realized that it was too late for such efforts. The alligator severed the arm near the bicep. Emergency workers found a sweater and part of the arm in the canal.

A wildlife officer fired two shots at an alligator, hitting it once. A necropsy will be conducted to determine if the dead reptile is the one which attacked the Florida senior citizen. Why Carol Hough was in the canal is not currently known. Leesburg is approximately 45 miles northwest of Orlando.