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03/18/2021 - Bryce Albert - Florida

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alb
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03/18/2021 - Bryce Albert - Florida

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Shark-bite victim 'happy to be OK' after incident near Juno Beach Pier, surgery on arm
Bryce Albert, 20, of Naples was wading in the water Thursday afternoon. Then he felt pain in his left arm.

JUNO BEACH — Bryce Albert was wading in chest-high water near the Juno Beach Pier on Thursday afternoon when he felt a sensation he described as similar to being kicked "with a metal cleat."

But after raising his left arm out of the water, he realized that it something more serious. He had been bitten by a shark.

On Friday, Albert was recovering at St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach after undergoing surgery. He recapped the experience in a conversation Friday afternoon with The Palm Beach Post.

More:Blacktip shark migration is here; experts share new information about their behavior

Albert, a 20-year-old Auburn University student from Naples, said he and a group of friends are on an extended break from school and decided to visit Palm Beach County, where one of his friends lives.

Albert said he and three others in the group were visiting the beach Thursday afternoon when they decided to wade into the water near the pier.

"It was very windy," he recalled. "(Thursday) winds were like 20 mph, so the waves were really choppy. It was really hard to see stuff because it was just so much white water."

Albert said he at first thought that one of his friends accidentally kicked him, but then realized that none were standing close to him.

"It felt like getting kicked with a metal cleat," he said. "Then I pulled my arm out of the water, and I could see my muscles and my tendons bubbling over. Then I realized what actually was happening. Luckily, there was a lifeguard standing there."

The lifeguard wrapped and bandaged Albert's arm, and a friend drove him to St. Mary's. The medical staff examining the bite wound said it likely was caused by a blacktip shark about 6 feet in length, Albert said.

Blacktip sharks typically begin migrating toward the waters of Southeast Florida in late January, with the highest concentrations appearing in February. According to a report from the Florida Museum of Natural History, Florida had the highest number of unprovoked shark attacks in the nation last year with 16.

However, the state saw a significant drop from its most recent five-year annual average of 30 incidents, the report said. Palm Beach County had just one incident reported last year.

Albert said doctors told him that the bite wound will need to heal on its own in order to avoid the risk of infection.

"I'm so lucky that it wasn't worse than it is," he said. "I'm just happy to be OK."


Albert described himself as an avid surfer growing up in Naples on Florida's southwest coast, and said he plans to return to the water after his wound has healed.

"The odds of this happening, it was like 1 in 3.75 million," he said. "I grew up in the water, I love it. I don't want to be scared of it, so I think I'm going to at least try my best not to be."

https://www.palmbeachpost.com
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