THIS Florida Man is the luckiest man alive...

The video below shows the incredible moment a firefighter fought off a 12-foot alligator that attacked him as he swam in a Florida lake. 

Juan Carlos La Verde, 34, was filming an instructional video for a race organized by his outdoor adventure company in Lake Thonotosassa, near Tampa, when he was mauled. 

Incredibly, the experienced triathlete, put his hands inside the alligator's mouth, forced its jaws off his head and chest and swam back to the dock where he called 911 himself before being driven to hospital by a Good Samaritan bystander. A drone pilot captured the August 3 attack and escape.  

La Verde, a former U.S. Air Force Pararescueman, underwent an emergency six-hour surgery to repair damage to his skull and face, and to remove part of his skull from his brain, his family said on a GoFundMe set up to help with medical fees.  

 

 

In his first interview since the mauling, which has left him without the right side of his skull, La Verde told ABC that as he took a stroke in the water 'all I felt was scales, teeth'. He instinctively fought back. 

He told the outlet: 'What I think I did - what I felt like I did - was that I immediately tried to open its jaws. When I felt the teeth, I immediately knew then. As I opened it, I know that it either I turned it or it turned me, but it was confused just as I was confused - and then it just let go.' 

The firefighter suffered injuries to his head and face - including a puncture to his brain. La Verde doesn't have bones on the right side of his head and his jaw will remain wired almost shut for the next few weeks. He was discharged from the hospital on August 12, readmitted and discharged again a few days later, but will have to undergo another surgery in the future.

'If you want to see this in any other way than a legit miracle, it's silly of you,' La Verde told ABC Action News. 'That thing was huge. It wasn't a little gator. It would be funny if it was a little gator.' 

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Just a quick thought about Barbara's Jewelry. 

Etsy is doing a site-wide sale promotion where 

you can get 15% off if you buy two items or more. 

 

Maybe now is a good time for you take a look. 

Click on this picture and it'll open in a new tab. Thanks!

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