A Florida woman is sharing her story after surviving an alligator attack in the Hillsborough River.
"Earlier this month, I've heard a lot of these stories, and I've heard a lot of tragic stories, lost lives of lost limbs," attack survivor Rachel Thompson said.
Thompson lives near the Hillsborough River, where she was attacked.
On July 4, just after 7 a.m., she finished a run and went into her backyard for a swim in the river.
"And I'm basically standing in shallow water, and I look from the dark water, out of nowhere appear the ripples of a giant alligator head," Thomspon said.
The gator attacked her, biting her in the leg.
Thompson recalls punching the gator in its snout, eventually getting away and pulling herself up onto a dock.
"The thought came to my mind: 'This is your last move and the next his next is to roll you.' And I just screamed, and I pried as hard as I could," Thompson said.
A licensed trapper removed the gator, which weighed more than 400 pounds and measured 10 feet 8 inches long, from the Hillsborough River.
The gator was euthanized.
Thompson spent three nights in the hospital after receiving emergency surgery.
"None of the major nerves were severed. One clean fracture to the fibula, the small bone," Thompson said.
State wildlife officials say serious injuries caused by alligators are rare in Florida.
Gators are most active between dusk and dawn.
Wildlife officials urge people to never feed an alligator.
Thompson says doctors expect a full recovery.
"I have a lot of scars, and it's amazing the more that you get in life, the more you realize people don't pick up on them, they don't notice them. I think this one might be different. I think this one might be a bit more noticeable," Thompson said.