ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WSVN) — There was a birthday party surprise for a woman who was attacked by a shark. She didn’t even see the shark in the water, and now, she’s just thankful to be alive and able to tell her story.
About 2-3 miles out from the St. Petersburg pier, near Tampa Saturday night, Natalie Branda swam in the water as she celebrated her friend Allie Muck’s birthday.
“I remember trying to attach two floaties together, and then I accidentally dropped one and splashed the water,” Branda said.
She didn’t see what happened next, but felt it.
“I just felt pressure and then it released, and I was like, ‘I got bit,’ and I swam the fastest I ever swam to the boat,” she said.
“I think the look in their eyes kind of made us realize it was a little bit more serious than we were anticipating,” Mucks said.
With her boyfriend by her side, Branda climbed a board the sailboat.
“I could only see my stomach at the time and everyone on the boat was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s not that bad,’ and then I turned around and everyone was like, ‘Oh my God,'” Branda said.
A bite mark that stretched from her backside all the way to her stomach was visible.
“We just all kind of put pressure on her wounds and everything,” Mucks said.
Rushing back to the dock, Branda’s friends called 911 and EMS was waiting.
At the hospital, she received confirmation that she had been bitten by a shark. She needed 14 stitches.
“It sucks that this happened, but when you’re entering and being with large creatures in their home, you have to respect them,” Branda said.
A shark expert said it was a large shark that bit her.
Branda and her friends know she’s lucky.
“It was the perfect cocktail for the perfect storm. I’ll probably get back in the water but i need to recover first,” Branda said.
Branda’s friends and family have put a Gofundme page for her as she recovers from her injury.
If you’d like to donate, click here.
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