A Nashville woman is recovering after she was injured while participating in one of Jamaica’s most popular vacation activities: swimming with dolphins.
According to Cierra Stockard’s sister, Naveah Garton, the dolphins lifted her in the air at one point during her excursion in Montego Bay. Stockard slipped, and the dolphin’s dorsal fin hit her groin area.
“This created such a blunt force trauma to the area [and] caused her to have [a] hematoma the size of three apples,” Garton wrote on a GoFundMe page for Stockard.
The family had to act quickly to raise nearly $30,000. Some of the money raised went toward getting Stockard immediate medical attention for emergency surgery at a local hospital in Jamaica.
“Due to her being American, the first hospital made her pay out of pocket just to be seen,” Garton wrote.
The other part of the money raised went towards Stockard’s medical flight back home from Jamaica, which was quoted at around $45,000 since she didn’t have the proper insurance.
Stockard updated people who donated to the GoFundMe. She was back in Tennessee as of March 31. She said doctors are closely monitoring her wound because they are concerned about an infection.
“They were planning on putting me through another surgery to cut the damaged, infected tissue. Thankfully, the antibiotics have been doing the job,” she stated on the GoFundMe, which had raised nearly $30,000 as of April 1. “I also received a unit of blood to help my hemoglobin back up.
While swimming with dolphins is a popular vacation activity, organizations like the Dolphin Project warn that it can be dangerous for both humans and dolphins.
“There have been numerous complaints and incidents reported of people getting injured during a swim-with-dolphins program,” the organization warned. “Customers have been bit, hit by tails, and even pulled under the water by over-worked and frustrated dolphins.”
In addition, many dolphins are held in captivity for tourists’ enjoyment, which experts say can add to aggression due to stress and frustration.
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