Woman Recounts Shocking Shark Attack Off the Coast of Florida: 'I Won'

A woman has shared the story of how she fought off a shark attack while swimming in Florida.

Heather West has posted a series of viral TikTok videos showing how her foot was ripped open by a lemon shark, which is generally considered one of the "least aggressive" shark species.

West needed emergency treatment after the attack in late January, but told TikTokers she felt she had "won" against the shark, which had made her "irate" by refusing to let go of her foot—until she punched it.

One of the clips, which has had more than 9 million views, shows her being wheeled on a stretcher with her bloodied foot in a bag, then being placed on a boat and a seaplane to Key West. Her latest update was posted as a fatal shark attack was reported off the coast of Sydney, Australia.

West is a "vanlifer," traveling the country in a converted Chevy Tahoe to visit all the national parks and a "good portion" of the state parks too. In January, she was in Florida, snorkeling at various beaches.

On the day of the attack, she and a group of other travelers decided to visit Dry Tortugas National Park. The 100-square-mile park is mostly open water, with seven islands.

According to West, the group headed to Loggerhead Key, one of the islands, on a dinghy, hoping to snorkel at the Little Africa reef. They couldn't make it to the reef because of rough water, so decided to head back to the other side of the island to "have a little swim."

By the pier, the group swam in single file. "I was mainly looking for conch shells, we weren't very deep in the water," she said.

"Since I was last in line, everyone was out of the water by the time the attack happened," explained West. "I had this really bad vibe and something in me said, 'Get out'.

"I immediately turned and when I did, I felt something snatch my foot. My brain couldn't really comprehend what was going on and I thought one of the guys had grabbed my foot trying to scare me.

"We sat there for what seemed like a while. The shark wasn't moving, I wasn't moving, and I thought, 'Well, this is getting a little awkward. How long are you going to hold my foot for?' And as soon as I thought that, he just rips me and rips me underneath the water. Immediately when he started the yank, I was like, 'Oh s*** this is a shark'."

West said that during the attack she recalled thinking, "No, that's mine, you can't have it," and feeling "p***** off" at the shark for ripping her foot the second time. She added that she had felt "irate" and "like the damn Hulk," yelling "You motherf*****" at the shark.

After the second rip, West said she began punching the shark with her fists, causing it to let go of her foot.

"As soon as I get on the beach, I look down and see that my foot is still there so I get really excited and started screaming and was like 'I won, I won, I won'," she said.

When her companions asked what she meant, she replied: "'It's still there.' I knew it was the battle for the foot and one of us was going to win, and one of us was going to lose, and I honestly didn't expect that I was going to be the winner of this so I was pretty damn happy."

The shark had reportedly been spotted days earlier by people working on the key, who had seen it attacking a pelican.

West was helped by workers on the island and then picked up by park rangers. A seat was available on a seaplane about to leave for Key West, where she received medical treatment.

West considered flying to Miami immediately to consult a plastic surgeon, but it was decided instead that medics should "go ahead and shoot me up full of [painkiller] Dilaudid, and quickly kind of fold my meat back over and throw 20 stitches in there."

She is now experiencing issues with her ligaments and tendons, she said, and is being treated by a plastic surgeon she found after her videos went viral.

In Florida, lemon sharks make up just 3 percent of recorded shark attacks. According to Florida Museum's International Shark Attack File, there have been only 10 previous unprovoked attacks by lemon sharks, all in Florida and the Caribbean. Many of her videos are posted with the hashtag #number11.

Newsweek has contacted West and the Florida Museum for comment.