Surfer survives second shark attack on the same beach

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (WPTV) – Being bitten by a shark once is rare, but being bitten by a shark twice is almost unheard of.

That’s what happened to a Florida surfer last week.

“I got a giant cut on that leg,” Cole Tushman said.

Tashman was recently released from the hospital.

“I almost lost the whole part of my ankle, and on this leg, I don’t even know how I still have toes, to be honest,” Tushman said.

The fishing boat captain says he was surfing at Battab Beach.

“It was a beast. It was a big event,” Tushman recalls.

He says the 7- to 8-foot shark bit his legs.

“I looked back and he said, ‘Ahhh!’ sitting behind me, and I just looked and saw him last second,” Tushman added.

Tushman says he was able to return to shore.

“They said I was walking and had three cut tendons,” Tushman said.

Back at the beach, Tushman met two of his friends, a girlfriend and a food truck operator who helped tie his legs with surf leashes instead of tourniquets.

Tashman was then rushed to the hospital.

“I basically blacked out,” Tushman said. “Ana hits me from behind. Zack drives like crazy, goes to the hospital, pours cold water on my head, doesn’t let me sleep, thank God.

Two surgeries and 93 stitches later, Tushman says he is recovering.

A surfer from Florida was bitten by a shark for the second time!

This was Tushman’s second shark bite.

“The first one was a tiny reef pup,” the surfer said.

The first bite occurred on the same beach in 2013, but this time the damage was much worse.

“There’s no comparison,” Tushman said. “It’s like comparing an Olympic athlete to a high school athlete. The amount of injury, it was so concerning, the amount of force there was in this case.”

Tushman says he hopes his story serves as a good reminder to never surf alone.