Shark bite survivor recounts attack: Arm ‘looked like Halloween prop’

Editor’s note: This article contains videos and descriptions that some readers might find graphic.

(NewsNation) — Steven Reinhardt narrowly escaped a shark attack off a Florida Beach, described by doctors as one of the worst along the coast this year, but due to his quick thinking, he defied the odds of survival.

“I felt something grab my arm and shake it. I yanked my arm out of the water. It looked like a Halloween prop,” Reinhardt recalled.

NewsNation visited Reinhardt while recovering in the hospital; he recounted the most terrifying moments of his life, emphasizing the remarkable nature of his survival after just 15 minutes in the ocean.

“My muscles were just hanging, just flopping. I could see my bone. It was crazy,” he said. “He shredded it.”

Reinhardt was swimming in rough waters at Juno Beach on Nov. 5, when about 100 yards from shore, he was bitten by a shark, WPEC reports.

“He bit down on it so his whole head was on my arm in his mouth all the way and he just thrashed me,” he recalled. “I looked back, and it looked like there was an oil slick of blood and I was like, “Oh … that’s not good.'”

He added: “It didn’t even hurt. I mean you hear it all the time, but it didn’t hurt. I even went what the hell.”

After immediately swimming ashore, his actions, according to doctors, played a crucial role in saving his life.

“There was a string in my suit. So, I yanked that out and then tied it real tight as a tourniquet, so it stopped the bleeding.”

Reinhardt was transported to St. Mary’s Medical Center after swimming ashore. He underwent two surgeries on his arm and skin grafting on his leg, as per WPEC.

“I can’t believe what the doctors did. I saw it. It was mangled. And they put it back together. Incredible. Doctors did a great job.”

Dr. Robert Boreggo, one of the surgeons who treated Reinhardt, has spent years gathering samples from different shark species to enhance treatment for shark bite victims.

This summer, NewsNation joined Boreggo to witness firsthand the meticulous process behind his work.

“What it does is we can treat the patient preemptively the moment they get bit with the right antibiotics,” explained Boreggo, medical director and chief of trauma at St. Mary’s Medical Center. “The likelihood of infection is much less. They go home much sooner.”

For Reinhardt, Boreggo emphasizes that the outcome might have been different years ago, underscoring the advancements in shark bite treatment facilitated by his research.

“We wouldn’t have known what to target and what antibiotic to use,” Boreggo said.

Expressing his gratitude, Reinhart acknowledges his luck — despite encountering an apex predator face to face, he considers himself fortunate to be alive and able to share his story.

“Man, your life turns on a millimeter, a couple of millimeters up, and he got my radial artery I wouldn’t have made it in.”

While shark bites are relatively uncommon this time of year, they do occur. Another factor to consider is the abundance of bait in the water where Reinhardt was swimming, a circumstance he hadn’t anticipated.