Similar shark victim advises persistence

A former Southlander and shark attack victim has lent her support and advice to a young teen who was bitten by a shark this week.

Jenny McDowell, now living in South Africa, was 13 when she was attacked by a shark at Oreti Beach on New Year's Eve in 1999. She had been swimming at the beach with friends when a broadnose shark bit her left arm. The bite went through to the bone and severed her ulna artery.

In an email, Ms McDowell said she wished Lydia Ward good luck in her recovery.

Lydia, 14, was bitten by a shark this week while swimming at Oreti Beach with her brother.

"If the experts are correct, then Miss Ward and myself were attacked by the same type of shark, at the same point at the beach, almost 10 years and one month to the day, and we were of very similar ages, so I truly do understand the experience," Ms McDowell said.

"If I could give her any advice it would be to jump back on the horse as they say.

"If she can, I would say to her, get back to the beach and go swimming because the longer you leave it the more there is to over come."

Ms McDowell said after her attack she became fascinated about sharks. "I have been able to use my experiences to fill my life with excitement and passion.

"I dive with sharks, I have done so in Fiji, New Zealand and soon in South Africa," she said in her email.

Yesterday Lydia's mother Fiona Ward said her daughter was recovering after being bitten.

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