Alabama woman loses leg in boating accident, remains positive: 'I've got to make the best of it'
Nikki Goodman lost her leg due to a boating accident. (Credit: Nikki Goodman)
MOBILE, Ala. - An Alabama woman is keeping a positive attitude after a boating accident led to her left leg being amputated.
Nikki Goodman, 43, said she was out with her husband last month on Gravine Island near Mobile, Alabama, for fun.
The couple was on a boat when the hydraulic cable broke and the boat started to spin in circles, throwing them both overboard.
During the chaos, Goodman made contact with the boat's propeller.
Goodman and her husband. (Credit: Nikki Goodman)
"It cut my left leg off," she told FOX Television Stations. "It [also] got my right leg above my ankle. It got to the bottom of my calf and above my ankle."
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Goodman said she didn't realize what had happened at first.
"My legs started going numb," she continued. "I pulled my leg up, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, my legs are gone!’but I didn't really register.
The boat eventually stopped, and Goodman's husband was able to get back on, rescue his wife, and apply a tourniquet with the help of some bystanders, preventing her from bleeding out.
She was transported to the hospital where doctors amputated her left leg.
"It's hard, and it gets to me," Goodman added. "But I've been really strong through it all because I realize my kids are watching, other people are watching, and I just have to be strong."
"I realize I've got to make the best of it," she continued.
Goodman said she will be fitted with a prosthetic leg and will have to undergo therapy.
She has set up a GoFundMe page to help with medical expenses.
This story was reported from Los Angeles.