WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - A Florida man who has been surfing all his life is on the road to recovery after a wild and painful encounter. He survived a shark attack, and now he is sharing his story.
Bert Krebs his ordeal started out as a typical surfing day near West Palm Beach.
“So I’m blessed it wasn’t worse,” he said.
Krebs said he was enjoying the waves with his friends when he was knocked off his board. That was when things took a painful turn.
“I thought I kicked a rock or something, and all of a sudden there was the bite, and two seconds later it was done,” he said. “[A shark] bit me; I either pulled my leg away or it let go. I knew right away what happened.”
Krebs remembers an off-duty firefighter was also at the beach and dove to the rescue.
He was then rushed to a local hospital.
“The shark basically took a bite of the entire foot, and it seems like slowly it ultimately took the small toe off at the end,” said Dr. Faris Azar, “so we have to deal with the damage on the foot and a toe that was missing as well.”
Despite the dangers and his long road to recovery, Krebs said he can’t wait to get back out on the water.
“It’s part of their world, and I’m just visiting their world, and I accept the things that go on with it,” he said.
The longtime surfer added he is grateful to be alive and has an immense amount of respect for the creatures of the ocean.
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