A Florida doctor's face-to-face encounter with an 8-foot alligator this summer, followed by her fight for survival and ultimate recovery, can only be described as a miracle.

Gator attack survivor says encounter left her hand 'just hanging'

Dr. Amber Perren, 27, and her husband, Kelby, said they had taken their dog, Poncho, for a boat ride on the St. Lucie River, never imagining what lurked in the dark waters below.

Moments after stepping into the water, an alligator emerged and clamped onto Perren's right arm.

"I was sitting in about two feet of water next to the boat," Perren said. "I leaned back to wet my hair in the two feet of water, and as I came up from wetting my hair, that's when the gator got me."

Perren described coming face-to-face with the gator and her fight for survival.

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