Shark attack survivor reveals why seeing his 'calf hanging everywhere' WASN'T the scariest part of his ordeal - and how his girlfriend saved his life
- Jackson 'Jacko' Howson was bitten by a shark at a Western Australian beach
- The spear fisherman suffered 5-8cm wound on his left leg injuries after attack
- He said his girlfriend Maddie, who is training to be a paramedic, saved his life
- Shark attack occurred about 500 to 1,000 metres offshore near Coral Bay A spear fisherman who survived a horror shark attack by punching the predator has revealed he had to swim 100metres back to his boat as blood gushed out of his shredded leg.
Jackson 'Jacko' Howson, 27, was fishing off Sandy Point near Coral Bay, north of Perth in Western Australia with his girlfriend when he was attacked at 12.15pm on Saturday.
The mauling left the fisherman with a 5-8cm bite wound on his calf after the two-metre shark lunged for the same fish Mr Howson had speared and latched onto his left leg leaving his 'calf hanging everywhere.'
Spear fisherman Jackson Howson (pictured) survived a horror shark attack by punching the ocean predator in a life-or-death decision
Mr Howson punched the shark then swam back to his boat where his girlfriend was forced to get behind the wheel and steer him towards help. 'It turned me over a bit and shook, as they do, thrashed for a second,' he told 7NEWS.
'I was just trying to hit it and use the [spearfishing] gun to poke it off me.'
Mr Howson said the adrenaline stopped him from feeling the pain when he was first bitten.
'You don't feel the pain as much when it's happening,' he said.
'But then when you look at your leg and realises there is calf hanging everywhere, then you're probably in a bit of trouble.'
Mr Howson described the unnerving swim to the boat, saying: 'I don't know why it didn't come back... you'd think it would sort of smell that blood in the water and maybe a frenzy would start with other sharks.'
The attack left the fisherman with a 5-8cm bite wound on his calf after the shark lunged for the same fish Mr Howson had speared and latched onto his left leg
Mr Howson said the adrenaline stopped him from feeling the pain when he was first bitten
Mr Howson said his paramedic-in-training girlfriend Maddie saved his life with her quick thinking.
She used a towel as a tourniquet on the boat and then drove it 35km back to Coral Bay, despite having only just learned to navigate the vehicle that morning.
'Most people I think would lose their cool,' Mr Howson said.
'I wouldn't want to be in that situation either, but I guess she's studying paramedics so clearly she'll make a pretty good one.'
He was fishing at Sandy Point near Coral Bay, north of Perth with his girlfriend when he was attacked at about 12.15pm on Saturday by a whaler or bull shark
Posting pictures of his lower leg injuries from hospital, Mr Howson said he was in 'good spirits' and underwent surgery back on land,
Witness Nick Hardie was fishing out at Five Fingers Reef south of the bay when he saw the victim and his partner hurling his way, The West Australian reported.
'We saw this white boat come rushing up to us and we were a bit confused,' Mr Hardie said.
'We saw that a guy was sitting in the floor of the boat and there was blood all over the boat.'
Mr Hardie said his boat was the first the pair had come across after the attack.
Mr Howson (pictured, left, fishing with friends), who is in his 20s, is recovering at Royal Perth Hospital following the attack
Mr Howson (pictured) punched the shark then swam 100m to his boat where his girlfriend was forced to get behind the wheel and steer him towards help
The girlfriend explained the spear fisherman had been bitten, adding 'I can't drive this boat'.
'We followed them into the boat ramp and then parked up next to them and I jumped on their boat,' witness Mr Hardie explained.
'She was a bit nervous and didn't really know how to drive it and he was on the floor, so I parked the boat up against the jetty at the boat ramp.'He drove the couple's boat to the jetty where paramedics tied a tourniquet around Mr Howson's thigh and wrapped a towel around his calf to cover the bite.
Mr Howon posted photos of the ordeal on social media before his surgery, including one where he made a shark fin gesture on his head as he's wheeled into the ambulance.
'Had better weekends. Flatter than the earth. Shark bite oo ha ha,' he said.
Mr Howon posted photos of the ordeal on social media before his surgery, including one where he made a shark fin gesture on his head as he's wheeled into the ambulance
A spear fisherman who was bitten by a shark at a popular tourist spot is recovering in hospital after his brave girlfriend made a life-or-death dash to save his life. Pictured: The man receives medical treatment on Saturday
He also posted another picture of him in hospital with two thumbs up as he waited to for his surgery.
'Thanks for all the support everyone,' he wrote.
'Bit too drugged up to reply, surgery in a few hours, maybe the plastics can fix this lid too. In good spirits.'
He is now recovering at Royal Perth Hospital.
No comments: