Former Division I swimmer Ali Truwit is set to make her Paralympic debut in Paris. A little more than a year ago, she never would have imagined she'd be there.

While celebrating her college graduation from Yale University with friends in Turks and Caicos last May, Truwit was attacked by a shark, leading to a forced amputation of her foot and part of her lower leg.

"I was conscious for the whole attack," Truwit said in an interview with PEOPLE. "My parents were in the United States at the time. I called my mom — well, the nurse called her — and I got on the phone and said, 'Mom, I . . . ,' and I couldn't even get the words out. I knew if I said the words, I would just . . . I was trying really hard to stay conscious, so I handed the phone to my friend Sophie who had to tell my mom."

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"I went on the plane to Turks and Caicos with a........

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