Carson Jewell was body surfing off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday when he felt some pressure on his hand. Thankfully, it didn’t hurt when a shark was mangling the 32-year-old’s flipper.
As Jewell told WWAY, he saw a fin sticking out of the water 30 minutes before he was attacked. Rather than taking that as a sign that he should get out of the water, he ignored it and kept catching waves.
“My hand was out, and the next thing I know there was pressure and really rough,” Jewell explained. “It didn’t feel rough. Just felt like I knew exactly what was happening. It didn’t hurt. When I stood up I could feel the body of the shark hitting my legs. It had me no more than two seconds, and there was no time to react, to think about it, or to do anything heroic.”
Jewell remained calm and had some of his friends use a surfboard leash to tie a tourniquet around his hand and slow the bleeding. He was then able to walk to the backside of Masonboro Island, where the attack took place, and was later treated and released from the hospital.
“Looking at the people that go to the beach all the time, I just happened to the be the guy that just got it,” Jewell said.
Fortunately, he didn’t get it very badly. Jewell still needed stitches, but it obviously could have been a lot worse. Just ask that lady in the background of the photo above.
Also see: Great white shark attacks swimmer at Manhattan beach (Video)
H/T For the Win
