Chad Renfro, a Barry University basketball player, survived a shark attack last week while surfing in Jacksonville, Fla.
"I just got a wave and I was paddling back out and I felt a shark clamp on my foot," Renfro told WSVN in an interview.
Renfro, a junior at Barry, said he was able to make it back to shore despite intense pain, but then had to wait for help.
"I was sitting there and people kept looking at me," Renfro told Channel 4. "I was trying to get someone to help me, and then one girl had walked over and I told her to call 911, and then I saw the lifeguards drive by, and so I just hollered for them and they came over."
He was then rushed to the hospital to be treated. The shark's bite sliced a tendon, severed a nerve and Renfro ended up going into surgery Wednesday night. He was sent home with 85 stitches.
Renfro is expected to make a full recovery, which is good news for the Barry team considering the 6'4", 190 pound guard is the leading returning scorer.
Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue Captain Thomas Wright told WTEV shark attacks in the area are not uncommon.
Renfro appeared to have a good attitude about the incident and said he'd surf again, because, as he told Channel 4, it's unlikely he'd be attacked by a shark twice.
He was also disappointed he didn't have anything cool to take home.
"They were doing x-rays to see if there might have been a shark tooth, but there wasn't," Renfro told WSVN. "No souvenir."
Related
Before You Go
