Florida teenager Ella Reed survived a scary encounter with a bull shark last month. The 13-year-old girl was in the water at Fort Pierce Inlet State Park in May when a bull shark bit her arm, stomach, finger and knee.
At first, I was just standing there because I didn’t really know what happened and afterwards, I was just kind of like shocked that it actually happened," she continued, "And I kind of thought it was cool, like, getting bit by a shark.”
She needed 19 stitches after the attack, and in a potentially life-saving move, she punched the shark and was able to make it back to shore. She might be one of the toughest kids on the Treasure Coast.
“It didn’t really hurt that much because I guess the adrenaline and stuff," she told WPEC on Thursday. "I was in there before, like today, surfing.”
On Thursday, her bravery was commended by local organizations and businesses in her hometown.
At the Pelican Yacht Club, the community rallied around her, honoring her with a membership to the Treasure Coast Board Riders Club and a $600 gift certificate for a new surfboard at Spunky's Surf Shop.
“It’s so radical to hear that she was local and her drive to get back out there, she’s a fearless young lady," said Gunther Schwartz, the manager of Spunky’s Surf Shop. "I mean, her story speaks on behalf of how fearless she is and it’s very inspiring for us as a shop, and us as a community.”
Ella says she has already gotten back in the water and is even surfing since her stitches are now out.
She says she’s been surfing her whole life, but she’s never had her own board – only hand-me-downs.
It’ll be, like, really, really cool having a new board because I’ve always kind of used my brother’s old boards while surfing, so it’ll be cool to have one of my own," Reed said. "I’m not really mad that I got bit anymore because (of) everything that’s happening."