Swimming in Florida is a dangerous venture, especially when you know at any moment, something could decide to make you, its prey.
We’ve all seen the news stories about Florida and alligators, but you never expect to be the person who ends up being a victim of one of those beasts.
Unfortunately, one man was very nearly mauled to death after taking a dip in a local lake.
Firefighter and paramedic, J.C. La Verde was swimming in the lake to shoot an instructional video for his own company, called Defeat X.
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ABC’s WFTS reported that the man was in the water when a drone flying above the lake captured the moment the 12-foot alligator headed straight for him and locked him in his jaws.
The incident, which happened a couple of weeks ago in Lake Thonotosassa, near Tampa, was a nightmare for the emergency responder, who ended up needing emergency response himself.
According to La Verde, when he realised that he was inside of the gator’s jaws, he immediately tried to escape, adding that the alligator seemed to be in just as much shock as he was.
He Verde told the broadcaster: "When I felt the teeth, I immediately knew.
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"And then as I opened it, I knew that I either turned it or it turned me. But it was confused, just as I was confused, and then it just let go."
As soon as he was free, he swam up to the dock and got himself out of the water where he was found by a good Samaritan who drove him to the hospital for treatment.
La Verde admitted to calling the authorities himself to let them know what had happened and didn’t want to trouble his rescuer.
He said: "I am not going to put extra stress on somebody that is already driving a bloody man somewhere.
"Like if I can ease that load off of this lady..."
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La Verde then underwent an emergency surgery to repair his head, which took six-hours.
However, it’s not a one-fix solution and he’ll need to go back in the future as the right side of his head is exposed and without a portion of his skull.
This means that he needs to wear a helmet to protect his head from harm.
He said about the incident: "If people want to see this any other way than a legit miracle, it's silly of you.
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"I shouldn't be alive."
He said you need to put your faith in religion to share the weight of such tragedy, saying: "Find your God. Find Him. It's silly. I get that that's scary I do, but life is a scary place, so you can carry that load by yourself or have someone carry it for you."
With so many reported attacks by alligators around that neck of the woods, it’s essential that people realise the dangers of entering waters and are aware of their surroundings at all times.
Britt Jones