She Thought It Was A Practical Joke
Heather West, a 42-year-old Texan, had planned to snorkel with several friends at Loggerhead Key in Florida's Dry Tortugas National Park when she had the terrifying incident.
She was enjoying the water off the Florida Keys when she felt something clamp onto her foot; she thought it was one of her friends playing a practical joke. It wasn’t.
Shock
She turned to look at what was holding her leg and went completely in shock. It was a shark, and it wasn’t letting her go anytime soon.
The 42-year-old, despite the shock, eventually realised what was happening and did this which would never cross anyone’s mind in a situation like this.
Weird Sea Grass
The group decided to go to Little Africa Reef but unfortunately, the sea was not in their favour that day. When the sea grew too rough for snorkelling, the party opted to return and enjoy a picnic on the beach.
They swam back to shore in a single file line. Heather was the last person left in the water when she came upon a patch of sea grass that appeared to be floating in an unusual manner.
Ripple In Water
She came to a halt and peered around, till a ripple in the water told her that something wasn't quite right.
Heather began swimming for shore straight away, but as she turned, she felt a powerful tug on her right foot.
Prank?
Her first impression was that one of her fellow snorkelers was trying to prank her, but a quick peek up revealed that they were all waiting on the shore.
That's when Heather felt the second, stronger tug, and she realised what was going on.
A Shark
She flipped over onto her back and peered behind her to find a six-foot lemon shark with its teeth clamped on her foot.
She started kicking it in the face with her other foot automatically. The shark was pulling her leg forcefully, and she could feel its fangs in her ankle.
The Ultimate Fight
Unfortunately, she was wearing flippers, and her kick wasn't doing any harm, so she leaned forward and began punching it.
She pounded it in the face as many times as she could, and it eventually let go after approximately 30 seconds. For the next two minutes, she was in utter shock and unable to swim. She was tired and about to give up.
Friends Rushed Back To Help
But luckily, her friends had returned to the sea to assist her. Greg Haw, 65, Douge Chancy, 70, and Freeman Hobs, 74, Heather's friends, swam back into the sea and worked together to haul Heather to the safety of the land.
The shark had totally mutilated her foot, and it was evident that she required medical treatment as soon as possible.
No One Around
She was bleeding profusely. Physically exhausted and not to forget traumatised. The guys then dragged Heather inland in search of assistance.
But because they had been so far out to snorkel, there was no one around.
Park Rangers
They finally stumbled across two park rangers who were putting up rat traps on the beach and radioed for help to nearby Fort Jefferson.
Heather was picked up by a speedboat from the fort, although she was losing a significant quantity of blood by this point.
'I Won, I Won'
To stop the bleeding, they had to attach many tourniquets above her ankle, which Heather described as "like having chunks of skin pulled from her leg."
'When I got to the shore, I just started screaming 'I won, I won,' because I realised I still had my foot,' Heather explained.
Severely Injured
When the team came, medical professionals saw Heather's foot and recognised she required hospital attention. Fortunately, a tiny plane was ready to depart the fort, and Heather was told to board it.
She was transported an hour to neighbouring Key West, where physicians examined her foot.
Doctors
Initially, they believed Heather needed to be flown to Miami for plastic surgery, but after a specialised doctor inspected the damage, he determined that stitches would suffice.
The doctor was able to keep it from being amputated but her tendons and ligaments were damaged, leaving her without complete control of her right foot.
Miraculous Escape
Heather is recovering well from the injury. She started gaining little control over her right foot now. She has been told that it would heal completely over time.
She recalls the experience as completely bizarre. Something that would stay with her forever. Back then she was convinced that if she hadn’t had a bad feeling and turned the shark would have bit her torso instead of her foot.
Planning For Next Trip
Despite this incident, Heather still loves sharks and don’t want people to be discouraged from going to sea.
She is already planning for going back for snorkelling once she is all healed up.