https://www.essence.com/news/zimbabwean-bride-arm-bit-crocodile-days-wedding

On Saturday, a bride tied the knot to the love of her life in a wedding ceremony in Zimbabwe. 

Just days prior, she was attacked by a crocodile who bit off her right arm. 

25-year-old Zanele Ndlovu and her now-husband Jamie Fox were on the Upper Zambezi River enjoying a canoe ride when the 8-foot croc launched itself from the water and snatched the former tennis star by her arm before dragging her down reports USA Today. 

Fox, 27, was thrown from the other side of the boat as Ndlovu desperately fought with the animal to free her appendage from its mouth. 

“Jamie swam over to where I was struggling with the crocodile that was trying to pull me to the bottom of the river and grabbed my waist and with the other hand he rained blows down on the crocodile,” she told The Telegraph. “The pain was excruciating but Jamie was by my side and I summoned the strength to fight through it.”

The bride was flown to a nearby hospital where doctors had to amputate the remainder of her arm and treat injuries sustained to her left hand. 

With her surgeon’s medical advice in tow, the bride and groom didn’t let a lost arm or a change in venue disrupt their plans to say “I Do” or damper their outlook on the day. 

“I spent a lot of time preparing for my wedding day, running around for a venue, decor and so forth,” she told the Zimbabwean newspaper, the Chronicle. “I didn’t know fate would have me wed in a hospital chapel, with one limb missing. But in all this, I’m not complaining. My wedding was the best, and I have a wonderful husband.”

The groom added, “I never even at one point thought of calling off the wedding.  I love her even more and this incident made me feel even more the deep feeling behind our vows. For better or worse, in sickness and in health, that’s just how it’s going to be.”

After Ndlovu gets the all-clear from doctors, she and Fox plan to move to the UK.