Girl's hand mauled by barracuda
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
Nine-year-old Michelle Casasola plans to stay away from the water for a while after her right hand was mauled by a barracuda Sunday, her mother said.
The Poinciana Elementary School student and cheerleader underwent about seven hours of reconstructive surgery in Miami the day after the 3-foot fish bit her while she was snorkeling with her family near Rock Key, Jessica Segura said.
They were with Fury Water Adventures.
Segura said she didn't know how bad the injury was until she saw her daughter's blood in the water.
"There are dozens of stitches," she said. "I don't know how many, but it is a lot. Her hand looked like someone took a knife to her palm and back of her hand."
The barracuda probably was attracted to the many yellowtail snapper in the water, which in turn were attracted to bagels the Fury crew threw in as chum, Segura said.
Fury co-owner Scott Saunders denied that any crew members were chumming the waters.
"We're very sorry that this occurred, and we have never had an instance of this happening before," Saunders said. "The boat does have bagels and muffins on it for customers. Is it possible that customers were feeding fish with them? Of course that can happen, but as far as the crew doing it, that's absolutely not the case."
Segura hopes Michelle will regain full use of her hand, but the doctor said she won't be able to properly grasp or hold anything for at least six months and may need more surgery in a year.
Michelle was taken to Lower Keys Medical Center and then to Miami Children's Hospital, where a plastic surgeon hand specialist removed nerves from her arm and leg to reconstruct her hand, Segura said.
"I knew her hand was hurt, but didn't know how bad until the doctor in Key West said she needed to see someone who is an expert with hands," she said.
Michelle was doing well after surgery, but was upset that she can't join her fellow cheerleaders for months, Segura said. She enters fourth grade this school year.
"She says she doesn't want to talk about the fish or get in the water for a while," her mother said. "She's very upset that she can't cheer, but first we have to do physical therapy and that is going to be painful for her."
