Thursday, October 31, 2024 - A man from Florida has been bitten by a shark for the second time in his life - and on the same beach.
28-year-old Cole Taschman was surfing at Bathtub Beach with
his friends and girlfriend on Friday, Oct. 25, when he was bitten on his feet
by a shark.
The attack came after he was previously bitten on his arm by
a shark 11 years ago on the same beach at age 16.
The then-teenager was treated with 12 stitches and a cast
after he kept using his surfboard to hit the four to five-foot-long
blacktip reef shark’s head, preventing the shark from biting him again.
Taschman then wrapped his injured arm with his T-shirt
before paddling back to the shore.
Meanwhile, the surfer’s recent shark attack saw a seven or
eight-foot tiger or bull shark bite his feet.
"He came up behind me, and as he bit me, I looked
behind me and saw him on me," Taschman told the outlet. "I just
screamed at [friends] Hunter [Roland] and Zach [Bucolo].”
“They were already paddling toward me as they saw the
thrashing, and luckily there was a wave coming right there, so I just got on
that wave and rode it in on my belly,” he added.
He was then carried to shore by his friends, while the
surfboard leashes were used to stop the bleeding.
Taschman was taken to Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital
in Stuart, before being transferred to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm
Beach, where he underwent two surgeries and recieved 93 stitches.
Speaking about the comparison between the first shark bite
and the second, Taschman told local NBC affiliate WPTV that “there's
no comparison,” adding, “It's so hectic how much worse this one was.”
"I actually blacked out,” he added. “I almost passed
out from shock or losing enough blood.”
Taschman continued, “So Ana [Tachman's girlfriend] is in the
back slapping me, and Zach is driving like a madman trying to get me to the
hospital. He’s dumping water on my head. They kept me awake, so thank God.”
Grateful for the help of his loved ones, Taschman’s advice
to people is to not surf by themselves.
“It's freaky," he said of the experience. "You
know, it changes you ... So definitely don't surf alone.”
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