FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A 12-year-old boy on vacation in South Florida was left bloody and bruised after he was bitten by a shark during a visit to the Bahamas.
Shane McConnell, who traveled to the U.S. from Scotland with his family, shared the ordeal with 7News on Saturday from Fort Lauderdale.
He said he didn’t realize the severity of his injury until after he was taken to the hospital.
“I didn’t actually get to see what happened until we got to the hospital, and then they took my shoes off,” he said.
McConnell said he didn’t even realize at first that he had been attacked by a marine predator.
“I didn’t really realize I got bitten by a shark until I actually managed to climb up the ladder, and I saw my shoes, and they had a big hole in them, torn on the sides,” he said.
McConnell said he and his family took a trip to Bimini, and while walking on a dock, he fell in the water.
During his struggle to get out, the boy said, a bull shark sank its teeth into his left foot.
“I think, when I was swimming, it sort of bit me while I was pulling my legs in, and it came out and then swam away,” said McConnell.
McConnell was then rushed to a nearby hospital, where he realized the bite had caused major damage.
“I got two puncture wounds in my left foot, and they were quite deep, and it’s bled a bit through the bandages,” he said, “and on [my right foot], I got a scrape.”
Through it all, his father said, the boy never showed fear.
“It was two and a half hours of putting stitches in. Never flinched, never flinched once,” said James McConnell. “He was so brave. He just kept on chatting and kept on smiling. He was reassuring everybody else; he was saying, ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to be fine.'”
As he recovers, McConnell said that, despite the brutal attack he endured, he has no regrets.
“I’ve always liked marine life, and I’ve always wanted to be a marine biologist, and this is just a good start,” he said.
Then he hastens to add, “I mean, a bad start.”
Doctors said McConnell should be up and walking again in about a week.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.