Her sister, 21, was forced to make the call to parents Margaret and Nick Brennan, 56, an architect.
Friday, 30 August 2013
Enjoying the trip of a lifetime to Thailand, university student Isabelle Brennan strokes a young tiger at a popular tourist attraction – one of the few places in the world where you can pet the deadly animals while they sleep.
But just minutes after this photo was taken, another 400lb tiger leapt into the frame, knocking the 19-year-old to the ground with its paw and sinking its teeth into her thigh.
She was saved when keepers at the Tiger Temple sanctuary in West Thailand jumped between her and the animal, while her sister and travelling companion Georgie, 21, dragged her to safety.
Reliving the nightmare she said last night: ‘I feel lucky to be alive. Everything happened so fast. One minute I was petting a tiger’s back, the next it turned its head and knocked me to the ground with its paw.
‘As it lunged with its teeth I felt an agonising pain on the inside of my left thigh above my knee. What happened next is a blur. But a keeper jumped in between myself and the tiger. Then, while the keepers pulled the tiger to stop it attacking me further, my older sister Georgie dragged me.
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The stunned teenager added: ’When I looked down at my leg it was terrifying. All I could see was blood.’
Two friends in their group immediately tied a tourniquet round Miss Brennan’s leg to stop it bleeding.
Meanwhile, the Human Sciences student who is studying for a degree at University College London was rushed to Thailand’s Kanchanaburi Memorial Hospital where she needed ‘tens of stitches’ to repair the four-inch wound.
She then had to remain in hospital for a fortnight after contracting an infection and high fever.
Mother Margaret Brennan, 52 a former nurse who now runs her own business, said: ‘When Georgie rang the first thing she said was ‘firstly Isabelle’s ok’ but I was very upset. I couldn’t believe it when she said Isabelle had been bitten by a tiger.’
But finally after a gruelling two weeks in hospital – when she was pumped with strong antiobotics - she was well enough to fly back to the UK.
