A man who saved his wife from a gator attack in the St. Lucie River last summer will receive a medal for his act of heroism.
The Carnegie Hero Fund announced 18 recipients of its medal for acts of extraordinary heroism on Monday. One of them is Kelby Perren, 33, who engaged in a tug-of-war with an 8-foot gator after it clamped onto his wife Amber's right arm in the St. Lucie River last July.
"I pulled her back, the gator pulled back, and I pulled her again, and she came loose," Kelby told WPTV in September 2025.
He then rushed Amber to their boat and sped to a nearby dock where first responders were waiting.
"The gator got my arm. It broke both bones in my forearm and severed the radial artery," Amber said. "My hand was just hanging."
Amber, a Stuart optometrist, underwent five surgeries and multiple skin grafts, as well as occupational therapy as she worked to regain use of her right arm.
"She's been optimistic through this whole thing. She's an impressive woman, and I'm lucky to be her husband," Kelby told us.
