Crocodile bites off woman's arm 5 days before her wedding

ZIMBABWE, Africa (KTRK) -- A woman in Africa didn't let losing her arm to a crocodile stop her from marrying the love of her life, although she did have to change her venue.

Zanele Ndlovu, 25, and her husband Jamie Fox, 27, were canoeing in the Upper Zambezi River near Victoria Falls on April 30.

Suddenly, an 8-foot crocodile leaped out of the river and snatched Ndlovu into the water, ripping off her arm.

"The crocodile just jumped out of the water, and bit a chunk of my arm together with the side of the boat," said Ndlovu. "The canoe started deflating, and it all happened so fast. The crocodile bit me again and pulled me into the water. My husband was thrown out on the opposite side, so the boat was between us."

That's when Fox started punching the reptile.

"Jamie swam over to where I was struggling with the crocodile, which 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," Ndlovu said.

"I was shouting, trying to save her. She was not complaining of pain when we managed to pull her out of the water, maybe because of the shock. We were hoping the doctors would save her arm but that was not to be," said Fox, adding that the couple had dated for about 18 months.

Five days later, she was walking down the aisle of a hospital chapel. Ndlovu says she felt blessed to be alive and wanted to keep their wedding date. The venue moved to the hospital where she was still recovering.

"We were glad we still had our lives and managed to keep our wedding date, although we had to do with a much smaller venue. The celebrations went ahead at the original venue, but Zenele and I had to remain at the hospital," Fox said. He described the wedding as "incredible."

The couple plans to move to the United Kingdom.

Ndlovu was discharged from the hospital on Monday.