Woman Loses Left Foot In Freak Boating Accident

PLACERVILLE (CBS13) - A boating accident left a woman without a foot, but she's not letting the freak accident ruin her life.

Her story of recovery is nothing short of inspirational, but her story doesn't end there.

Emily O'Meara was enjoying her first weekend in almost a year with her family on the lake, when the almost impossible happened.

You couldn't tell from O'Meara's smile that just 2 weeks ago she lost her left foot in a freak accident.

"I'm thankful it was just the foot," said O'Meara.

A tow rope, attached to a raft the family was pulling on Jenkins Lake, wrapped around the Placerville mom's ankle.

"I was coming up out of the water, lifted my leg up out of the water and there wasn't my foot, was just dangling there," said O'Meara.

O'Meara says a stranger on the dock quickly called 911.

Now she's hoping to find the good Samaritan who helped her family and possibly helped save her life.

"That man, I don't know his name, but I want to thank him for being there at that exact moment in my life," said O'Meara. "Who knows how long it would have taken for someone to find their phone and call. "

She's not stopping there.

O'Meara is turning her tragedy into a mission to warn others about the danger tow ropes can cause.

"I will gladly sacrifice a foot and be glad it wasn't my son sitting in that seat," said O'Meara.

Instead of allowing her loss to ruin her life, the cheerful waitress plans to take advantage of what she calls her new lease on life.

"I was given a second chance at life and I'm just going to go with it and see where it takes me," said O'Meara.

Her boss Bob Huston says her job's waiting for her when she comes back.

"For anybody to accept something like that so quickly is extraordinary," said Huston. "But she is a great gal."