A 19-year-old Oklahoma teen recalled surviving a shark bite in the waters off a beach near Galveston, Texas, while on vacation with her family last week.
Damiana Humphrey told FOX26 Houston the shark took her hand in its jaws while she was swimming in waist-deep water with her siblings.
“As I was turning, a shark grabbed a hold of my hand,” the teen said. “I looked down and there was a shark attached to my hand, so I guess I started punching it. That part is kind of blurry to me.”
When the shark eventually let go of Damiana’s hand, she and her siblings rushed to shore.
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A shark bit a 19-year-old teen off the shores of Galveston, Texas, severing four tendons in her hand. (FOX26 Houston KRIV)
While Damiana said her encounter with the shark “is kind of blurry to me,” she said her siblings believed the shark was four to five feet long.
It was unclear what type of shark bit the teen.
Damiana said that she was in waist-deep water with her siblings when a shark appeared in the waves. (FOX26 Houston KRIV)
Damiana was rushed to a hospital with four severed tendons in her hand and underwent surgery, the outlet reported.
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Damiana told the station that she is expected to make a full recovery with physical therapy.
The most common types of shark found off the Texas coast include the bull shark, pictured above, spinner shark, blacktip shark and bonnethead shark. (Getty, File)
“Honestly, I’m just glad it wasn’t as bad as it could have been,” the teen said.
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Galveston Beach Patrol Chief Peter Davis told the station that shark bites don’t often occur in the area, though the incidents he has seen have been cases where the shark mistakes a human for prey and quickly lets them go.
