A man who was savagely attacked by a seven foot shark in Florida said he would “100% be dead” if it wasn’t for nearby boaters providing life-saving assistance after the gruesome mauling.
While fishing in shallow water at sandbar in Key West, Fla. on Aug. 23, Dave Daniel, 43, was viciously bitten by what he believes to be a six or seven foot nurse shark, according to an online fundraiser.
“I looked down in the water and there was so much blood in the water,” Daniel recalled to NBC News of the horrifying attack.
Daniel, a Sunshine State resident, said he noticed the large beast in the water and tried to move away but it suddenly “beelined” toward him “face-to-face” and brutally latched onto his legs.
After the bloody mauling, Daniel remembered thinking, “there’s no way you’re getting off this beach, bud.”
“Sitting on the beach, bleeding out, I was making peace with myself saying ‘if it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go,’” he said.
But then Daniel saw two nearby boaters, who happened to be medical staff, racing over to provide assistance “like angels coming out of nowhere.”
“If it weren’t for them, I would 100% be dead on the beach,” Daniel told WSVN. “Grace to God that they were medically-trained people and nurses and EMTs.”
Nearby boater and trained nurse Courtney McMurrary told NBC that she just happened to be in “the right place [at the] right time” when Daniel was mauled by the huge shark.
“I think he and I were meant to be there,” the good Samaritan said.
The boaters provided life-saving support while waiting for the US Coast Guard to arrive, who eventually airlifted Daniel to a Miami hospital where he underwent two successful surgeries.
The 43-year-old, who works as an exterminator, was discharged from hospital on Wednesday but said he “can’t really move around at all” as his foot is in a boot and is bandaged from the surgeries.
“I feel okay, like pretty strong. Just my blood pressure’s acting a little funny because, you know, I just got attacked by a shark,” he quipped to WVSN.
While his recovery is expected to take months, including physical therapy and time off work, Daniel feels “incredibly humble and thankful that I realized that every minute does count in your life” after surviving the brutal mauling.
“One minute you could be walking around having a great time, looking at beautiful weather and having fun with friends, and the next minute, you could literally be dead,” he explained.
While he’s grateful to be alive, Daniel said he doesn’t think he’s “going to get back in the water any time soon.”
“Probably not for a long time,” he added.
