Erik Norrie’s Recovery From Shark Bite Follows Being Bitten By Snake, Struck By Lightning, And Twice Punched By Monkeys
Call it a thirst for adventure or a gluttony for punishment — Erik Norrie's latest run-in with nature has the Largo, Fla., man receiving multiple skin grafts following a shark attack in the Bahamas that left him missing a large chunk of his left calf.
Norrie's past escapades include being bitten by a snake, struck by lightning, and punched by monkeys twice. The latest incident took place while on vacation with his family in the Bahamas, when Norrie was snorkeling and spearfishing grouper for that night's dinner. Swimming in five or six feet of water, he felt a crunching sensation on the back of his leg.
"It's called the shark bite diet," he laughed. "You can lose two pounds in three seconds."
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Though lighthearted in the hospital bed, Norrie recalled being fraught with panic, fear, and a lot of blood the moment the attack was over. After the shark disappeared with a piece of Norrie's leg still in his mouth, the experienced spearfisherman grabbed the bands off his spear and fashioned a tourniquet above the bite to stop the blood flow.
"My first reaction was, 'Aaaahhh!' And I real quickly flipped my right foot into the shallowest water I could get in and I stood up and I picked my leg up out of the water," he explained to FOX13 Tampa Bay.
"I immediately threw the spear down with the fish because there was an enormous pool of blood around me and that shark was swimming all through the blood, sort of looking around, for more."
Norrie's four daughters and wife, Spryng, watched the scene unfold. "It was a reality as soon as I saw red covering the water," Spryng said. Meanwhile, one of the daughters called for help on the radio, relaying the message that her father had just been attacked by a shark.
To their good fortune, a doctor vacationing from California happened to be nearby, offering help to Norrie as he struggled to get ashore and then later to Jackson Hospital in Miami. Norrie said that he spent the entire car ride thinking he was going to die. His oldest daughter deployed urgent missives via text message, asking friends to pray for her dad.
"I didn't keep my head cool, the Lord kept my head cool," said Norrie. "Because I couldn't have done it without him; he sustained me, kept me calm."
The family said prayers on the way to the hospital and counted their blessings as Norrie recovered, as temporary bandages encased the wound in preparation for the skin grafts he'll need later on.
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Owing to the true rarity of attacks, the International Shark Attack File (ISAF), which is produced by the Florida Museum of Natural History, investigated only 80 unprovoked shark attacks in 2012. And although the number of attacks has risen each decade since 1900, the ISAF urges people not to worry, as the amount of time spent in the sea is also increasing.
For the Norrie family, Erik Norrie's resilience in the face of such a rarity is what astounds them the most.
"God has a very big purpose for Erik's life and I believe he wants to do a mighty work through Erik," Spryng said. "I'm just amazed, in his strength. He's so strong. And he's been so brave and just wonderful. I'm really glad to have him."