Byron Bay Shark Attack Victim, Sam Edwardes, Needs Your Help

Yesterday morning, what was looking to be a fruitful Sunday session for Sam Edwardes turned into a full-blown nightmare.

The 41-year-old was having a sunrise swing at Belongil, not far from Byron Bay’s main beach, enjoying an early season tropical pulse when he found himself in the jaws of a juvenile Great White Shark. 

To the horror of victim and onlookers alike, he was launched off his board, screaming as it tore at flesh and foam.

Thanks to the quick response from fellow surfers and beachgoers (special mention to Dane Davidson), Sam was assisted to shore where his leg was wrapped with a legrope tourniquet stemming the concerning amount of blood flowing from his wound. He was promptly picked up by authorities and airlifted to Gold Coast University Hospital where he slipped into a critical condition.

“There was a lot of splashing and smashing and he started screaming,” Dane Davidson told the ABC. “I was freaking. When I heard the screams he was making in the water and then I saw a chunk of his board floating off, that’s when I realised it was pretty bad. “We didn’t realise until we were on the beach that there was a big chunk taken out of his leg, so there was a lot of blood.”

Eight hours later, both man and leg had survived.

Unfortunately for Sam, the road to recovery is looking to be long and rocky. He’s facing more hours under the knife, with skin grafts and an arduous rehabilitation program ahead of him. 

To make things worse Sam works as a casual teacher for special needs students and won’t be able to earn a living while he’s laid up. So you can add financial hardship to the list of woes poor Mr. Edwardes is up against.

Friends describe Sam as a “good lad who loves a beer, AFL, and surfing” and considering he spends his working hours helping those who need it most, it’d only be fitting for the rest of us to chip in to help see him through the recovery process.

His pals have set up a GoFundMe which you can access, right here.

A good bloke, who needs your help!