“I realized right away it was a shark because of the way it bit down on my foot, but I was more worried about getting my fiancée out of the water,” High told FOX 5 Atlanta.
High said the shark continued to pursue him as he tried to escape.
“Then it came up to try to get my arm. So I had to push it away from me. I ran, and it tried to get my other leg,” he told the station.
3 A Georgia man was bitten by a shark while protecting his pregnant fiancée at a Florida beach. Lori Long via FOX 51 Gainesville
3 Jacorey High, 22, is recovering at a Florida hospital. FOX 5 Atlanta
He described the shark as gray on top and about as tall as the distance from his waist to his feet, according to FOX 5 Atlanta.
After reaching the shore, High realized the severity of his injuries.
“I didn’t really feel it until I got to the hospital, when they started giving me medicine for it,” he said.
Doctors performed surgery on High’s foot after the attack, and he told the station he expects his recovery could take about three months.
“Hoping that it didn’t really mess up anything important in my foot so that I can go back to work,” High said.
3 A medium-sized shark attacked High while swimming in shallow water. Jacorey High
Fox News Digital previously reported that shark experts have urged beachgoers to stay alert this summer as sightings have increased along several U.S. coastlines.
Marine biologist Mike Heithaus of Florida International University told Fox News Digital that shark bites remain unusual, even during the busy summer beach season.