- British woman Amor Armitage was diving near the island of Cozumel when a boat propeller ripped into her body.
- The boat propeller sliced her abdomen, genitals, and legs, causing serious injuries.
A British yoga instructor was snorkeling off the coast of the Mexican island of Cozumel in the Caribbean Sea on December 17 when she was cut open and seriously injured by a boat propeller.
Amor Armitage, 37, was immediately rushed to a hospital where she underwent a life-saving four-hour operation to reconstruct her bones and tendons, The Times of London reported.
But it was her husband Chase Armitage's "words and love" that she said kept her alive on that terrifying journey to the hospital, she told the newspaper.
Armitage told The Times that if "it wasn't for my angel Chase I would not be here today."
A crowdfunding page to help get Armitage back to the UK following the accident, which friend Rita Melro set up, relays what happened on December 17. "Amor was caught by a propeller from the boat they were diving from which caused extensive injuries to her abdomen and legs," the friend wrote.
In an Instagram post on Friday, Armitage said everything seemed to "slow down" as she felt the boat propeller hit her abdomen, legs, and genitals. She said she let out a "visceral scream" for help.
The boat's captain told her to go up the ladder onto the boat, she said, but she could see her "insides out." In the post, Armitage explained that she somehow managed to push herself up onto the boat.
She described on Instagram how her body felt "mutilated," and she felt "pain that is out of this world," per Sky News.
Then her husband, a professional stunt performer, arrived.
Speaking to The Mail on Sunday, her husband said: "I just ditched the heavy scuba kit and held her tight as best I could. You hear people talk about soul mates, and Amor and I, we are those soul mates. We're quite spiritual people, we feel closely connected.
"'I told her I wouldn't let her go, that we had so much strength together, that the world needed her and it wasn't time for her to leave. And that she had shown she was a miracle by staying alive."
He continued: "But it wasn't even about the words. The love we have is powerful enough. She also has a positive mindset and, despite the situation she faced, that helped her greatly."
Armitage's husband is now trying to raise money to pay for her treatment, which so far costs in excess of £60,000 ($72,318), The Times reported.
She is currently in a recovery ward and is receiving daily treatment in a hyperbaric chamber to increase her oxygen levels and to help speed her recovery, The Mail on Sunday reported.