dan9999
11-16-2009, 03:30 PM
Woman Bitten By Shark Unsure If She'll Surf Again
27-Year-Old Dwyer High Grad Says She 'Got Real Lucky'
November 16, 2009
wpbf.com
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A 27-year-old who was bitten by a shark while surfing in the Atlantic Ocean off Jupiter said Sunday she isn't sure she's willing to brave the waves again after her latest encounter.
"There was no fight," Melissa Hardcastle told WPBF 25 News' Angela Rozier while describing the attack. "It was just instant."
Hardcastle said that after she was first bitten, she looked at her foot to make sure it was still there. Hardcastle said she was pretty far out in the water and realized she needed to get shore as soon as possible.
She said it took her a long four minutes to get back to shore.
"I was paddling back, and what was really hard and going through my mind was that the crashing waves that were coming on me and throwing me off my board, and getting back on the board and just the struggle of getting back to shore was the worse part," Hardcastle said.
Hardcastle said that when she made it to shore, two female tourists stayed with her until fire-rescue crews arrived. She was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released the next day.
The attack happened at about 5 p.m. Friday, just south of Carlin Park. The 2001 Dwyer High School graduate is walking on crutches with her foot in bandages and will have to stay off her feet for a while.
Hardcastle said she has bite marks on her upper foot and three scrapes from where the shark's teeth dragged across her foot.
"Like, my whole foot was in its mouth," she said.
Hardcastle said she's glad to be alive and able to tell her story, though she isn't sure she'll be going back in the water anytime soon.
"This time I got really lucky," she said. "I just don't know if I want to chance it again with surfing, being out there again, because I feel lucky to have a foot."
27-Year-Old Dwyer High Grad Says She 'Got Real Lucky'
November 16, 2009
wpbf.com
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A 27-year-old who was bitten by a shark while surfing in the Atlantic Ocean off Jupiter said Sunday she isn't sure she's willing to brave the waves again after her latest encounter.
"There was no fight," Melissa Hardcastle told WPBF 25 News' Angela Rozier while describing the attack. "It was just instant."
Hardcastle said that after she was first bitten, she looked at her foot to make sure it was still there. Hardcastle said she was pretty far out in the water and realized she needed to get shore as soon as possible.
She said it took her a long four minutes to get back to shore.
"I was paddling back, and what was really hard and going through my mind was that the crashing waves that were coming on me and throwing me off my board, and getting back on the board and just the struggle of getting back to shore was the worse part," Hardcastle said.
Hardcastle said that when she made it to shore, two female tourists stayed with her until fire-rescue crews arrived. She was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released the next day.
The attack happened at about 5 p.m. Friday, just south of Carlin Park. The 2001 Dwyer High School graduate is walking on crutches with her foot in bandages and will have to stay off her feet for a while.
Hardcastle said she has bite marks on her upper foot and three scrapes from where the shark's teeth dragged across her foot.
"Like, my whole foot was in its mouth," she said.
Hardcastle said she's glad to be alive and able to tell her story, though she isn't sure she'll be going back in the water anytime soon.
"This time I got really lucky," she said. "I just don't know if I want to chance it again with surfing, being out there again, because I feel lucky to have a foot."