A former lifeguard has been left with severe injuries after she was bitten by a black tip reef shark while snorkelling in waist deep water close to the shore.

Emily Ross, 32, a computer programmer from Las Vegas, came face to face with the predator near the pier in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, just south of Pompano Beach, Florida.

Less than "four or five seconds" after she spotted the shark's fin, the creature snapped its jaws on her left arm, and she watched as the water turned red, with chunks of her flash floating near her."

Ross, a strong swimmer, ran out of the water with the help of another swimmer, and a former nurse used a beach towel as a tourniquet, before she was taken to hospital for surgery.

She's been left with "spaghetti wrist,' meaning every tendon, ligament - everything - was torn", she says. "

And while she feels frustrated there were no lifeguards on duty when she was attacked on May 27, she says she plans to get back in the ocean when she's well enough.



"From the time I saw the shark to the time I was bitten to the time I was kicking was all so quick," Ross said. "

"[It was] probably less than four or five seconds."

"The whole incident changed the rest of my life."

"If it wasn't for the fact someone knew how to pick a tourniquet, I would've died on that beach."

Ross was snorkeling near shore after deciding against swimming to a farther reef alone, when she suddenly spotted a shark's tail fin.

"It was a normal day. There didn't feel like there was anything ominous happening," Ross said."

"Everyone always says they had a bad feeling about it, but I just didn't feel that."

She added: "The most memorable part was the blood and the water - it all happened so fast my brain couldn't even process it."

She was rushed to the hospital for an eight-hour emergency surgery.

"The thing that I learned the most about this is that it doesn't matter how good of a swimmer you are," Ross said."

"I was a lifeguard before, and just an excellent, strong swimmer, growing up in the water. "

"Always swim near lifeguards because something horrible can happen to you at any moment."

Six weeks into physical therapy, Ross faces an uncertain future.

As a computer programmer, she's concerned about regaining full function of her injured arm.

"I've been in PT for six weeks and I can barely pick up a piece of a sponge with all of my fingers," Ross said. "

"My physical therapist describes my injury as a ‘spaghetti wrist,' meaning every tendon, ligament - everything - was torn. "

"Because of that, I have to follow recovery instructions very, very carefully."

"It's a beautiful improvement from where I was, where I couldn't do anything, but terrifying as a computer programmer."

"I type quickly."

"The most disappointing thing about the whole situation is that there were no lifeguards on duty at this beach," she added."

"If someone is looking out into the water, you can see sharks coming. "

"You can have red flags saying, 'don't get in the water.' "

"Those lifeguards are lifesaving people."

Despite her traumatic experience, Ross remains hopeful about returning to the water someday.

"I truly believe the water is a magical place and I'm terrified of it at this moment," Ross said. "

"That's something that I want to gain back because I can't let a freak shark attack scare me from one of the most peaceful places on earth."