The Tribune

By Leandra Rolle

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

AN American woman is now finding her life returning to normal thanks to being fitted with a robotic arm after losing the limb in a shark attack off Paradise Island two years ago.

It was June 2017 – the beginning of summer — when Tiffany Johnson, 34, from North Carolina, had embarked on her fourth cruise along with her husband James, 33.

Like many tourists vacationing in The Bahamas, the Johnsons decided to go snorkelling in a reef near Paradise Island.

However, the experience, which was meant to be an enjoyable one, was anything but and quickly turned into one the deeply religious family will never forget.

“So, my husband and I are vacation junkies and so this past June (2017), we had set a date to go on our fourth cruise and that last stop in Nassau, we had already planned to go snorkelling there so we get out to the snorkel site and I remember the captain saying that this whole area is just full of reef that you can snorkel.

“And, we jumped in right away, no hesitation and I remember kind of looking down and observing the fish and I looked up and there it was kind of swimming towards the boat and so I popped my head up and I said are you okay and he said well, he’s not feeling the greatest.”

“So he went back to the boat, and I thought well, I’m just going to stay out here. And, I remember just being lost in that world, staring down and I felt a bump or a tug on my arm like I bumped into something and I gradually just kind of turned to my right to casually to see what I bumped into.

“And when I turned, I was literally face to face with a shark. He had my whole arm in his mouth and fear just surrounded me and I yanked my arm back instinctively and that was when he began to thrash and fight me. My body tried to give up but the strength of the Lord just came up from inside me and allowed me to fight.

And I remember thinking no, you are not going to take my life and I am not going to die here. His jaw opened and my arm came out and I remember just looking at it and it was gone. But, I didn’t stay in that moment. I threw off my snorkel mask and I screamed out help, help me Jesus.”

“And, that’s when my husband heard me and he screamed out ‘baby’ and he jumped in the water and he kind of guided me that last ten feet. And I remember that as soon as I landed in that boat, the piece of the Lord was so strong on me. It was like a thick tangible crowd, something I’ve never felt before.

“I remember spotting the beach towel sticking out of our bag and I remember saying baby, go get that beach towel so he’s tying it in.

“My husband was frantic, you know, just in sheer terror, and the captain’s the same way, trying to grab the anchor,” she said.

She had such a sound mind that she instructed her husband to grab their beach towel -- the only available option -- to stop the bleeding.

“And then I laid my head down and I closed my eyes because in front of me I had literally sprayed blood everywhere. And I began to pray.

I got to the port and it had been a good 30 minute boat ride and I was told later by medical professionals, trauma nurses and doctors and they all said Tiffany, it doesn’t even make sense medically why you’re even here and why you’re alive because you should’ve bled out in that boat.

“I didn’t lose enough blood which is just an amazing miracle and I just think about the amazing miracle of it all.”

Trying to return her life to normalcy after the near-death experience has not been easy for Tiffany.

When she was rushed from Nassau back to the United States she was placed under the care of orthopedic surgeons, Drs. Bryan Loeffler and Glenn Gaston who were pioneering an innovative procedure called targeted muscle reinnervation, or TMR.

The procedure has been the front line in the effort to improve the interface between humans and technology.

TMR enables the user’s mind to communicate with artificial limbs via prosthetics connected to the patient’s nervous system.

According to Gaston many patients are quickly able to perform all the functions the prosthetic allows. In the past, that would’ve taken months of training.

“They literally just have to think ‘close my hand,’ and they close their (prosthetic) hand,” said Gaston.

The new ‘Fin’ that propels amputees in the water

For Tiffany, it has been a tough journey since the attack. She has relearned how to perform once-simple tasks, such as eating, writing and cooking.

She’s adapting to life with one arm, and so is her husband and three children - Kylee, eight, Luke, seven, and Natalie, four.

“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,” she says.

‘It is heavy and can be uncomfortable at times. But I am thankful to even be on this journey able to learn the process. I had to learn a new normal and that wasn’t easy; being a mum of three, very independent by nature, and used to doing it all.”

Despite the near-deadly incident, Tiffany still snorkels when the opportunity arises.

“I’ve been to the ocean several times, went on two cruises since, and even snorkelled in a man-made reserve with turtles just ten months after the attack.

‘But I really haven’t had any desire to get back in the ocean; this is not because of fear, but rather I am using wisdom as I haven’t had any issues with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or depression and I don’t want to introduce anything just because I am trying to check something off my list.’