A Brevard County teenager lost his arm to an 11-foot alligator during a battle for his life early Monday.
Witnesses said the gator attempted to drag Kasey Edwards, 18, underwater as the boy held onto buoys to save his life.
"I got away from him," he said. "Luckily, it was a fight for survival: He was trying to eat. I was trying not to get eaten."
Edwards was taking a 2 a.m. swim in a canal stemming from Lake Okeechobee. He said he was hanging out with friends on the banks of the canal when he decided to swim to the other side.
"We tried to talk him out of it in the first place," said Robert Schriber, a friend of Edwards.
Edwards said he was halfway across the canal when he heard his friends start screaming.
"I thought [they were] just cheering me on," he said, "(I) didn't know there was a gator tracking me this whole time."
The huge alligator pulled him under the water. The canal is about 25 feet deep, authorities said. The teenager managed to grab a buoy during the struggle.
"I thought, 'I'm going for a pretty wild ride here,'" Edwards said. "I knew they usually do a death roll."
Edwards said he fought with the ferocious reptile, finally jabbing his middle finger in the gator's eye as far back as he could get it. The gator retreated.
"I started trying to swim back to the other bank, and that time I realized most of my arm wasn't there," he said.
Edwards' friends called for help and attempted to stop the bleeding once he was back on shore.
"The whole time I felt myself bleeding to death. I was screaming for help, asking God for forgiveness," he said.
But Edwards survived the ordeal. Authorities said they located and killed the alligator, finding the teenager's arm inside. However, it could not be reattached.
Officials said Casey was scheduled to have surgery Tuesday. Doctors made sure his arm was not infected and proceeded with prosthetic options.
In spite of everything, Edwards maintained a positive outlook on the situation.
"There's no reason to be discouraged," he said. "Life's hard enough with two arms. One less isn't too much of a deal."
WTG Casey!
