The woman spoke of her horrific experience of being attacked by a shark, where she “slapped” the predator in the face to get away.
Heather West, 35, from Montgomery, Texas, shared her shocking story in a series of now-viral TikTok videos, where her first clip has been viewed more than 16 million times.
In January, she visited Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park with other adventure seekers, but the trip turned into chaos when they decided to take a dip in the water.
Heather West, 35, from Montgomery, Texas, detailed her recent shark attack in a series of viral TikTok stories, saying she felt like she was in the movie Jaws.
West admitted that she thought she lost her leg after a 6-foot shark grabbed her fin while she was in the water.
While her friends lingered on the shore nearby, West was filming in the ocean when she suddenly “felt danger.” Moments later, she was in the shark’s grip.
“A voice in my head said, ‘Go away now,'” West told Jam Press. “When I was facing the shore, I felt something grab my ankle.
“Despite the fact that a few seconds before I saw all the guys on the beach, my brain still couldn’t understand what was happening, I thought that one of them grabbed me to scare me.”
“I remember thinking how strong they are. It felt like my ankle was in a vice and it was so strong… I just sat there and waited for her to let go.”
West then felt a “strong tug” on her leg and realized she had been attacked by a shark.
The attack happened in January while she was visiting Florida’s Dry Tortugas National Park with other adventurers.
West said she initially thought one of her friends had grabbed her, but then she felt a “big tug” on her leg and realized she had been attacked by a shark.
West started kicking the shark, but her fins got in the way. It wasn’t until she punched the predator in the face that he released her and her friends were able to drag her to safety.
“When he dragged me through the water, I knew that I was alone and I needed to fight back if I wanted to survive even a little,” she recalls.
“I rolled over on my back with my foot in the opposite direction and started kicking him in the face with my good foot.”
West explained that she had fins and “couldn’t get pushed.” [she] you need to give him a good slap in the face.
‘I was so angry that I used him as leverage and sat down in the water, yelling ‘You bastard!’ and hit him in the water with both fists – and then he decided to let go.’
Once free, West, who thought she had no leg, called her friends for help and also prepared herself in case she was attacked again.
West recalled getting her leg hurt, saying, “I looked down and saw it was still attached and started screaming, ‘I can’t believe I won!’
After describing the predator, two local residents identified it as a 2-meter lemon shark, which circled around for some time and attacked the birds.
West was flown to a nearby island and then boarded on a charter plane to Lower Keys Medical Center in Stoke Island, Florida.
“Blood flooded the water and I couldn’t see where he had gone,” she said. “At that moment, it seemed to me that I was in the movie “Jaws”.
West’s friends eventually dragged her by the arms to the beach, and one of them applied a tourniquet, applying pressure to the wound on her leg, while the other man tried to find help.
Meanwhile, adrenaline and shock.
“At that point, I still thought I didn’t have a leg,” she said. “I looked down and saw it was still attached and started yelling, ‘I can’t believe I won!
“After that I was very happy. I was just so grateful to be alive,” she shared. “I didn’t get upset and didn’t cry at all. I just kept saying, “Wow, that was a wild ride!”
After describing the predator, two locals identified it as a 6-foot lemon shark, which circled around for a while and attacked the birds.
West claimed it took her three and a half hours to get help after being told staff were “too busy” to treat her.
West said she began to clean the wound herself, which was very painful.
West was then visited by a doctor who examined the wound and said that he would be back later.
West was flown to a nearby island and then boarded on a charter plane to Lower Keys Medical Center in Stoke Island, Florida.
A group of medical workers were waiting for her upon arrival, but West claimed it took her three and a half hours to get help.
She also claimed to have been told the staff were “too busy”, causing her to start self-treatment.
“I returned to the bed and began to slowly remove the bandage and clean the area around the wound,” she said. ‘
At that time, I had not yet received anything for the pain, and this process was extremely painful.
“Looking at my foot, it was obvious that my tendons were torn, if not torn, and the ligaments in my ankle were torn,” she said.
West claimed she received 18 stitches and was sent home, saying the treatment she received in the hospital was worse than the shark attack.
West’s leg swelled and turned black and blue as it began to heal from the attack.
West was then visited by a doctor who examined the wound and said that he would be back later. She ended up with 18 stitches.
However, she was unhappy with the treatment she received at the hospital and claimed that she was released even though she still needed medical attention.
“Looking at my foot, it was obvious that my tendons were torn, if not torn, and the ligaments in my ankle were torn,” she said.
‘[In my opinion], nobody cared. What they did to me was truly the most traumatic part of the day – worse than the attack itself.”
West said she was left with permanent damage to her foot, but despite the horrendous ordeal, she was back in the water just four weeks after the attack.
The shark’s teeth left visible marks on the back of its injured leg.
West claimed that she was left with permanent damage to her right leg.
But despite the horrendous ordeal, she returned to the water just four weeks after the attack.
has reached out to Lower Keys Medical Center for comment.
Thousands of TikTok users commented on West’s video, many of whom were fascinated by her incredible story.
“LOOK AT THE PULSE IN THE FIRST CLIP,” wrote one person, while another added, “Dude, you’re so lucky someone was following you.”
“Blood-colored nail polish is trendy,” someone else joked.
One viewer even admitted to being a little jealous, explaining, “I want that kind of shark attack when there’s enough story to tell it, but on the big screen, I get scared.”