Bull shark
Bull shark
A man's foot was nearly severed Tuesday in a shark attack in Ponce Inlet.

Sam Cumiskey, 25, had surgery and is out of the hospital. He said the attack is a moment that will stick with him forever.

"I'm blessed. If the good Lord wanted to kill me, he would have done it then," he said.

Cumiskey was out surfing on Pone Inlet when he said a 7-foot bull shark bit his left leg.

He was in waters about 5-feet deep when he fell off his board and into the water. That's when he felt the animal latch on to his foot and bite down.

When the shark opened its mouth for a split second, Cumiskey was able to shake his leg free, but not before the creature severed four tendons in his right leg.

"I stood on my left leg and I looked (to) the right and at that moment I knew it was bad, because the whole water at that point (was) red," he said.

He got himself out of the water and was rushed to the hospital for surgery.

Cumiskey expects his recovery water to be long and costly, and while the experience might keep most out of the water, Cumiskey said he's looking forward to catching the next wave.

"The day I can surf, I'm going in," he said.

Cumiskey said his brother was also attacked by a shark a year ago and needed 30 stitches.