College Student from Suwanee Recovering From Shark Attack

A Suwanee teen is recovering at home this week after being attacked by a shark off a beach in Jacksonville, Fla. The attack required 50 stitches to her foot, according to media reports.

Fox 5 Atlanta reported that Colleen Malone, 19 and a student at Georgia Southern University, suffered the attack Tuesday (July 2) while standing in about four feet of water.

She said she saw two fins from what she estimated to be a 3-foot long bull shark. She said she starting swimming away.

"Looked back on my back and saw it come out of the water and bite my foot," Malone told Fox 5. "My mind was completely like -- I didn't even -- I wasn't thinking. Just my instincts kicked in and I just pulled my foot away and swam for my life."

Colleen Malone said that she realized she had been bitten by a shark when she got on land and saw blood. 

"I pulled my foot out of the water to see if I was OK because I thought my middle toe was missing, but it wasn't missing  -- thank goodness -- but there were gashes in my foot," she said.

She spent several days at a Jacksonville hospital, where doctors stitched her up.  She said she suffered no major damage.

And she said she won't let the incident keep her from going back into the ocean.

-- Do you know Colleen Malone? Have you ever had an encounter with a shark? Tell us in the comments below.

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