Man bitten by shark leaves Salinas hospital, thanking those who saved his life: ‘Heroes’
SALINAS, Calif. — A man who was bitten by a great white shark off the Central California coast near Salinas last month was released from the hospital on Wednesday.
Steve Bruemmer, 62, was released from Natividad Medical Center in Salinas after undergoing three weeks of hospital care and rehabilitation after a shark bit him as he swam off Pacific Grove near Monterey.
Bruemmer was applauded by hospital workers as he left in a wheelchair, wearing a blue T-shirt emblazoned with the words: “Shark Attack Survivor.”
In an emotional video before he was wheeled out to applause and cheers from hospital workers lining the pathway, Bruemmer said from his hospital bed that the shark bit him across his thighs and abdomen and then “it spit me out.”
“I’m not a seal,” said Bruemmer, a retired Monterey Peninsula College professor. “It took me for a seal. We’re not their food.”
“It was looking at me, right next to me,” he said. “I thought it could bite me again so I pushed it with my hand and I kicked at it with my foot and it left.”
The shark came within a millimeter of severing a major artery, Nicholas Rottler, a trauma surgeon at the medical center, told KSBW-TV a day after the June 22 attack.
The great white shark mystery: In Southern California, they're being spotted more than ever
However, no major damage was done to his bones or organs.
“It could’ve been much, much worse, he could’ve not made it out of the water,” Rottler said.
After he cried out for help, Bruemmer said he was rescued by two standup paddleboarders — a nurse and a police officer — who came over and a surfer who took two boards from the beach to reach him.
“The three of them in the bloody water got me up onto the surfboard and pulled me into the beach” despite the possibility that the shark was still circling, Bruemmer said, calling them heroes.
“I remember lying in the ambulance and the ambulance guy said, ‘two minutes … we’re two minutes out. In two minutes, everything’s going to change, you’re going to be met by 15 people who are going to prod you and poke you and ask you questions. This is the best place you can possibly be.’ ”
What lies beneath coastal waters?: Beware of sharks swimming closer to shore
Bruemmer said he was taken to a trauma center for surgery and received 28 units of blood. He thanked the medical workers and the blood donors for saving his life in the emotional video, choking up near the end.
Police used an aerial drone to look for the shark but didn’t spot it.
Shark attacks in California are rare. However, Tomas Butterfield, 42, of Sacramento was killed in a shark attack in Morro Bay in central California last Christmas Eve.
Shark attacks rare in California
It was the only unprovoked fatal shark attack in the United States last year.
The area was sectioned off for beachgoers following the incident last month. Pacific Grove Police monitored the water using an aerial drone but the shark was not spotted.
Bruemmer is an experienced swimmer and Rottler said this helped in his recovery, “Being in really good physical condition before the shark bite definitely made his functional recovery easier. His upper body strength and cardiac endurance allowed him to improve faster than most patients.”
In the video released by Natividad Medical Center, Bruemmer continuously thanked the bystanders who helped him and the medical team for saving his life.
“Heroes. How do you get into the bloody water, with maybe a shark circling beneath you to save a stranger? They’re amazing.”
Indigenous outreach: A Monterey County doctor wanted to help more people. So she learned their language.
Community lifeline: Natividad serves Salinas’ neediest
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: Man bitten by great white shark in California goes home
