Most Americans look forward all year to getting some time off work with a vacation.
They hope to be able to get some relaxation.
And a Florida woman’s dream vacation went to hell after one nightmare came true.
Two Florida women were attacked by a shark on Bahamas vacation
Rileigh Decker, a 20-year-old, and 24-year-old Summer Layman were looking forward to some fun in the sun and ocean when they traveled to Bimini Bay in the Bahamas.
They took a friend’s yacht to the resort area that is located about 50 miles away from Florida.
Decker and Layman jumped off the ship into the ocean when the worst happened.
A shark attacked them minutes after they went into the water.
Decker felt something “nudge” her leg, but she was not sure what it was.
“I was like, ‘Summer, what was that?’ And she was like, ‘Don’t scare me like that.’ And probably about two minutes later, we were right by the ladder. I felt my leg get tugged down, and I immediately knew I was bit by a shark,” Decker said.
They were pulled out of the ocean by their friends and family.
Layman suffered a nasty bite on her foot.
“They yelled to me that the top of my foot was shredded, and I just hadn’t realized until I looked down,” Layman recalled. “We both were panicking in that moment.”
A tourniquet was made from a towel and some rope for the shark bite on Decker’s leg.
“I just put my head in my hands and started praying that God wouldn’t take my life and I would live,” a sobbing Decker told NBC’s Today. “Yeah, it was very scary.”
Florida women were flown back home for medical treatment
Both Florida women were airlifted to a medical facility in the Bahamas where they were treated.
Once they were stable, they were flown to a hospital in Orlando for further treatment.
Decker had to undergo three surgeries on her leg to treat the wound and make sure it did not get infected.
“All we can do now is be grateful that we’re still here because it could have ended very differently,” Decker told ABC’s Good Morning America.
The situation could have been much worse for the Florida woman.
“We’re just very grateful to still be here with all of our limbs,” Decker stated.
She was released from the hospital after her third surgery.
Both Decker and Layman are expected to make a full recovery after undergoing rehabilitation.
Neither of them will be going back into the water any time soon after their nightmare trip to the Bahamas.
“I will not be going into the water for a long time,” Layman stated.
“I will never. I won’t even put my toes in ever again,” Decker added.
The Bahamas is a hotspot for shark attacks, according to the Florida Museum’s international shark attack file.
A 44-year-old woman from Boston was killed during a shark attack while she was paddleboarding at a resort near Nassau, Bahamas in 2023.
Shark attacks are a rare occurrence but they are one of the most terrifying things that can happen in the ocean.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
