In an astonishing turn of events, a Florida man has been bitten by a shark for the second time—at the very same beach where he suffered his first attack 11 years earlier.
Cole Taschman, 28, was enjoying a day of surfing at Bathtub Beach with friends and his girlfriend when a shark bit his feet on October 25.
Taschman’s shark encounter follows a harrowing incident when he was just 16. Back then, he was treated for a bite to his arm after he bravely used his surfboard to fend off a four to five-foot blacktip reef shark, enduring 12 stitches and a cast as a result.
This latest attack was more severe. Taschman reported that a seven or eight-foot tiger or bull shark approached from behind and bit his feet he recounted.
In a panic, he screamed for his friends, who immediately paddled toward him.
“Luckily, there was a wave right there, so I just got on that wave and rode it in on my belly,” he said.
Once on shore, his friends quickly fashioned surfboard leashes to help control the bleeding. Taschman was transported to Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital before being transferred to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where he underwent two surgeries and received an astonishing 93 stitches.
Reflecting on the difference between the two attacks, Taschman said, “There’s no comparison. It’s so hectic how much worse this one was.”
He even experienced a moment of unconsciousness due to shock and blood loss, with his girlfriend and friend working to keep him alert during the frantic drive to the hospital.
Grateful for the quick actions of his friends and girlfriend, Taschman has a message for fellow surfers: “It’s freaky. It changes you… So definitely don’t surf alone.”