HOUSTON â A local teenager is recovering after a shark encounter in Galveston this weekend.
She was bitten over the weekend on West Beach, one of the most popular spots on the island.
Mikaela Medina, 14, told Local 2 she didn't know what happened at first; all she said is she felt something slam into her back. She didn't realize she had been bitten by a shark until she got back to shore.
"I came in, the water was murky, a lot of seaweed. Then I turned around, didn't see anything, didn't see blood or the shark or anything so I swam out. At first I didn't think it was much. I was like this could be a big deal so swam out as fast as I could. I was completely out of breath and I told my mom, I said, 'I think there is a shark out there,'" Mikaela said.
Her mother, Maria Amezaga, told Local 2, "Actually it was scary. We know there are sharks but you never think something like this can happen to your own daughter."
Mikaela said, "After she told me that I was bleeding I started crying."
She is just fine. Fortunately, a family friend who's a doctor took care of her wounds and she didn't need stitches.
The family didn't report the incident to Galveston Beach Patrol. The family says they heard the sharks had been caught by fishermen, but never thought they would come that close to where they swim.