Dallas Woman's Amazing Recovery After Shark Attack
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FLORIDA (CBSDFW.COM) - Remember the North Texan attacked by a shark while vacationing in the Bahamas?
Lacey Webb Martin of Dallas is making an amazing recovery and spoke from a Florida hospital about her harrowing experience.
Lacey says she is ready to return home to North Texas. Although she is still facing some reconstructive surgery and physical therapy, she says she is doing well.
Three weeks ago, Lacey was snorkeling with her husband while vacationing in the Bahamas. She says she saw a shark when she entered the water, but wasn't alarmed because shark sightings are common there. Lacey and her husband were following a stingray and that's when they believe a roughly 8-foot bull shark attacked her from behind.
"The shark hit me from behind. I knew immediately that it was a shark bite," she said.
Scientists told her that the shark was likely trying to grab the stingray and she got in the way. Nevertheless, Lacey managed to yell for help and swim back to the boat, in spite of a wound the size of a large pizza.
"I realized, at the top of my mind, that my husband was in the water, so when I surfaced I knew that I had to very clearly communicate what was going on to get my husband out of the water and then I had to get my face back in the water so I could swim for the boat," she said.
Lacey was airlifted to a hospital in Florida, where doctors raced to stitch her back together. They even found a dime-sized tooth from the shark embedded in her body.
"I wear it as a badge of honor," said Lacey. "Every time I look at my injury it reminds me that I'm blessed to be here. A day for me to fight and live on and I'm proud of it," she said. "I really think my faith pulled me through this…I had faith, and I had a peace and calmness that I was in God's hands and that I was being taken care of. The right people were sent to me."
Doctors and nurses are in awe of her positive attitude, and say in this case, her composure may have kept her alive.
With a new found respect for sharks, Lacey says, she is not afraid to go back into the water. She is also planning to create a piece of jewelry with that tooth.
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