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A Florida surfer is vowing to return to the waves after being bitten by a shark in a county deemed “the shark bite capital of the world.”
Volusia County Beach Safety confirmed to Fox News Digital that Matthew Bender, 40, of Winter Park, Florida, was surfing at the popular but notoriously shark-prone waters of New Smyrna Beach on Sunday, July 6, when a shark latched onto his arm.
“I felt it clamp down like a bear trap out of nowhere,” Bender told Fox News affiliate, WOFL-TV, from his hospital bed. “By the time I looked down, it was already gone. I never saw the shark, but it bit really forcefully.
“It felt like electricity – pressure, extreme pressure – and then I think it shook its head as it let go. It was so fast,” he said.
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Matthew Bender told FOX 35 that he believes it’s a “miracle” that he can still move his hand following the shark attack at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida. (WOFL-TV)
Despite the severity of the bite, later measured at around 10 inches long, Bender was able to stay conscious and coherent. Fellow beachgoers rushed to his aid.
Thinking quickly, Bender asked for a board leash, typically used to tether a surfer’s ankle to their board, and they fashioned it into a makeshift tourniquet.
“I was squeezing the whole mangled area myself with my left hand,” he recalled to the outlet, as others pulled the tourniquet just above his elbow to stop the bleeding.
Videos from the scene captured beachgoers surrounding Bender immediately following the attack.
People walk past an access ramp at New Smyrna Beach in Volusia County, Florida, the area with the most shark attacks in the world, on Feb. 23, 2024. (Jesus Olarte/AFP via Getty Images)
Lifeguards arrived moments later and transported Bender to the hospital, where doctors performed emergency surgery to reconnect severed muscles, tendons and nerves.
Remarkably, he was able to move his fingers even before the surgery.
“When I looked down, my arm was completely mangled,” Bender said. “It’s a miracle my hand was still working.”
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The recovery ahead may be long, and the resulting scar will be permanent.
“I don’t know if it’ll be the cool ones that chicks dig, but it might be ugly,” he joked.
Matthew Bender, 40, said he’s excited to fully recover and head back out to the surf following his shark attack. (WOFL-TV)
The longtime surfer is eager to return to the waves, with doctors expecting Bender to make a full recovery within months.
“I think the Lord kept it from being serious. He works in mysterious ways,” Bender said. “I got to take a little break, but I’ll be back out there. I’m a New Smyrna surfer at heart, and it’s not going to end now just because of this.”
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Authorities have not confirmed the type or size of the shark involved.