HOBE SOUND BEACH, Fla. — A surfer is recovering in a hospital after he was bitten by a shark at Hobe Sound Beach.
Chris Bryan, of Jupiter Farms, said he was surfing around 4:30 p.m. Friday when it happened.
“Took one last wave in and jumped off my board and as soon as I landed in the water, it just, bam, hit my foot,” Bryan said.
Byan, 42, is a math teacher at South Fork High school in Stuart.
He said he hopped back onto his surfboard, swam toward shore and called for help.
Bryan said several bystanders and lifeguards came running and dragged him onto the beach.
“And that’s when I saw how bad it was. I was like, oh no!” Bryan said.
He said there was a huge gash on his left foot.
“The paramedics said that I passed out when they were getting me on the four-wheeler to get me up to the parking lot, so if I was by myself, I don’t know what would have happened,” Bryan said.
Paramedics rushed Bryan to Jupiter Medical Center where he went into emergency surgery to repair a severed tendon and torn artery.
Bryan said it took dozens of stitches to close the wound.
“The doctors ran out of material and someone had to go get more,” Bryan said.
Bryan said he didn’t see the shark because the water was murky, but he estimates it was about 4 feet long, based on the size of the bite.
Each year, between January and March, thousands of blacktip and spinner sharks migrate to the South Florida coast.
Many of them are close to shore, near beachgoers.
Brian said he is on antibiotics and hopes to be released from the hospital today or tomorrow.
He said he plans to spend about six weeks recovering at home before going back to work.
Bryan said he plans to get back in the water to surf again when he can.
“You know, the sharks are out there,” Bryan said.
“Chances of getting bit are so slim, I’m hoping the chances of getting bit a second time are even slimmer.”
