Leeanne Ericson is a fighter. Nine weeks in the ICU and eight operations after a harrowing ordeal with a 9-to-11 foot great white shark, the mother of three spoke to ABC News about her encounter in vivid detail.
On April 29, a day Ericson’s boyfriend, Dusty Phillips, describes as particularly serene – dolphins swimming and the sun shining – the pair found themselves at San Onofre for a family beach day. Ericson had gone out in the water with swim fins, Phillips on a surfboard. As Phillips describes it, Ericson took a break from treading water by holding onto Phillips’ board, until he decided to turn for an approaching wave. It was then that Ericson screamed.
“I felt it grab me and pull me down,” she said.
In an effort to push the shark away, Ericson explains she began to claw at the animal’s eye. “I just started digging… you know it felt like I was digging out a cup of Jell-O.”
The shark ultimately let go of Ericson, and Phillips immediately put her on his board and began to paddle to shore.
When Ericson got a look at her leg – a chunk of flesh of which had been torn off her body down to the bone – she couldn’t believe it. “When I saw my leg on the board, that’s the image my mind gave me, was a cartoon,” she told ABC News.
Phillips explained that to him this didn’t resemble an “exploratory bite,” it was a bite to kill.
That Ericson even survived is miraculous and a testament to Phillips’ and first responders’ ability to act quickly. But how much does a shark attack cost? Millions, according to Ericson.
“My antibiotics alone were like $36,000,” she said. A GoFundMe page set up by Ericson’s mother (which has raised some $97k) has offered some respite, but Ericson explained that the costs are still taking a toll on the family.
Since the incident, Phillips is back surfing but Ericson has a way to go.
To support Leeanne Ericson’s recovery, you can check out her GoFundMe page here.
