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North Texas Woman Attacked by Shark in Florida Keys

North Texas Woman Attacked by Shark in Florida Keys
Lindsay Bruns in the hospital after being attacked by a shark in the Florida Keys. | Image by Miami Herald

A North Texas woman is recovering after she was attacked by a shark while scuba diving in the Florida Keys late last month.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) reported the incident occurred east of Sawyer Key.

Lindsay Bruns from Flower Mound was vacationing in an area of the Keys that she and her family had visited many times before. The woman was a passenger on a pontoon boat with her husband, Luke, and their two young daughters when the attack occurred. Luke had stopped the boat so that they could swim.

Bruns dove into the water, and her husband remembers hearing a “big splash” followed by “plenty of thrashing and water flowing over into the vessel.”

When he heard his wife screaming for help, he looked for his wife but saw “nothing but blood in the water.” He dove into the water to help her back onto the boat.

The injury on Bruns’ right leg is consistent with a shark bite.

“She had a half-circle wound on her right leg. It extended from the top of her hip to just above her knee,” the reporting officer said. Bruns’ best friend described it as “completely mangled.”

Bruns’ husband explained that he stopped the profuse bleeding by using a rope as an improvised tourniquet during the 20-minute ride back to shore while he spoke on the phone with emergency personnel.

Florida FWC officers asked Luke Bruns to park the boat at a nearby restaurant on Summerland Key. Once parked, emergency services officers were able to retrieve the injured woman. She was flown by helicopter to a Miami trauma center.

During an interview with an ABC affiliate, Luke Bruns discussed the incident and how his daughters witnessed the attack on their mother.

“They were bawling. They were screaming; they saw it all. It was very traumatic,” said the victim’s husband. “Once we got on the boat going, I told them, ‘Girls, you need to pray for Momma.'”

Luke Bruns reported that his wife is expected to recover completely from her injuries.

“It’s a miracle. It’s crazy that things like that happen.” Reflecting on the event, he added, “It really puts things into perspective for you.”

Lindsay has undergone several surgeries already and requires additional surgery to complete reconstruction. Meanwhile, the family has been unable to leave Florida as she recovers in the hospital.

As a result, she and her family are “greatly in need of financial support to help with hospital bills, surgeries, rehabilitation, and temporary living expenses out of state.” A GoFundMe page was created to aid the family in meeting these expenses.

“The road to recovery is just beginning, and Lindsay is in good spirits and optimistic,” wrote Chelsea Maresh, a friend of the Bruns’ and organizer of the GoFundMe.

On behalf of the shark attack victim and her family, Maresh added, “The Bruns Family expresses gratitude for the help of emergency responders, hospital doctors, and staff, as well as those who have reached out and offered thoughts and prayers.”

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