ORLANDO, Fla. — It was a nightmare at sea. 20-year-old Rileigh Decker, from Melbourne, was on vacation - singing and dancing on a boat in Bimini Bay, when she and her 24-year-old friend, Summer Laymann, decided to go for a swim.
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“We were swimming to the ladder. And I kind of felt something nudge my leg. And I looked at her and I was like, what was that,” said Decker from her hospital bed. “We kept swimming. And then I felt a tug on my leg. And I knew right then and there that I was a bit.”
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Decker believes a bull shark bit her. The whole thing unfolded in a matter of seconds. While Summer tried to help her friend, she didn’t realize she was also attacked! “We both were panicking at that moment. I didn’t realize that I got bit until they started screaming that my foot was like shredded,” said Laymann.
The two had to be airlifted to hospitals right here in Central Florida and now have a long way to recover. “All we can do now is just be grateful that we’re still here because it could have ended very differently,” said Decker.
The attack comes just weeks before spring break.
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Although rare, shark encounters are still possible, especially as warmer waters push them closer to shore.
“Most sharks are cold-blooded. The warmer water often improves their metabolism and functioning,” said Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, Executive Director at Shark Research Foundation. “So many of them will actually go to areas that are warm water, especially in cold times of the year.”
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Rileigh’s mother says the 20-year-old already had to go through two surgeries and is now getting ready for a third one at a hospital in Orlando.
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