Shark Week 2020 | 'I Was Prey: Terrors From The Deep': Nicole Moore recalls the time a shark swallowed her arm
Sharks are considered one of the most terrifying predators in the ocean and for good reason. Many who have gone up against it, haven't survived to tell the tale. And those who have, have a gory tale to tell. As part of Discovery Channel's 'Shark Week', survivors recounted their tales of horror in 'I was Prey: Terrors From The Deep'.
Nicole Moore, who has been a fitness freak all her life, was just enjoying her holiday with friends at a beach in Cancun, Mexico when she landed against a shark while frolicking in the waters. She describes herself as someone who had always liked living on the edge, as one never knows what tomorrow might bring. That terrifying day in January 2011 did not change her philosophy, even though it transformed her life.
The ocean water was beckoning to her and she stepped in. A couple of people on jet-skis tried warning her, but they were too far away and were yelling in Spanish. She didn't understand and continued to step forward. She felt a bump and she prayed it was something like a snorkel. And then the pain hit her and she saw her blood filling the water. "My body was being attacked by a shark. I knew I needed to get to the shore. I started screaming wildly but no one was paying attention to me. I started moving forward with my arm and then the shark came forward and swallowed my entire arm. I felt this incredible amount of pressure on my arm. All I saw was teeth, layered and serrated. I was just trying to stay above water, but it was pulling me."
She says she desperately tried to punch it, and she hit it on the nose. The shark swam away, finally. Nicole began to panic as she thought about her children, and thought about how she had to get back to the shore. She screamed for the jet ski people and they came and helped her. They grabbed her fingertips and managed to take her to the shore.
"I was already so weak. I was hanging on for dear life." She saw a 'massive bleeding hole' in her leg and saw that there was blood pouring out on the sand. With her last bit of strength, she told the people to try and keep her arm. This brutal attack resulted in two surgeries. One was 12 hours long and the other was 9 hours. Her arm couldn't be saved as it had been 'shredded', as she says and had to be amputated.
For Nicole, it wasn't a big price to pay to survive, as she could be with her children and husband again.
'I Was Prey: Terrors From The Deep' is a Discovery Channel special as part of their 'Shark Week 2020' schedule.