The ocean is full of surprises – some breathtaking, others terrifying. For Eddie Jarmakowicz, a day of spearfishing in the Bahamas turned from sport to survival when a reef shark mistook him for the catch of the day.
On what should have been an ordinary trip with friends, same as he had done taken many times before, Jarmakowicz instead found himself in a fight for his life. Thanks to the quick action of his friends – who pulled him from the water, applied a tourniquet, and coordinated emergency transport from the remote island – and the treatment provided at HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, he is expected to make a full recovery with complete use of his arm, hand and fingers.
“I was spearfishing in about 25 feet of water just past Grand Cay and had just shot a mutton snapper,” Jarmakowicz recalled. “I was ascending to the top and reached down to grab the fish when the shark grabbed my hand. I never even saw it, but my dive buddy said it was a 6-foot reef shark. I looked down and saw my wrist hanging, flesh exposed. I was just thankful I could still see my fingers.”…