A 73-year-old diver has misplaced her leg after a shark mauled it as she climbed into a ship within the Bahamas.

Heidi Ernst, a retired bodily therapist from Marshalltown, Iowa, was attacked only a month after notching up the milestone of her five hundredth dive. She says she realised when she noticed the injury to her left calf that she would wish an amputation.

The assault occurred at a dive website referred to as "shark junction" close to Taino Beach in Freeport, Grand Bahama, on June 7. Heidi was on a ladder climbing up into the boat when the shark latched on to her leg. 

Read extra: Shark that ate Russian man had killed twice in a year 

She was given pressing care at a neighborhood hospital earlier than being airlifted to hospital in Miami.

"There was blood everywhere," she mentioned. "I was afraid I was going to die and was in severe pain."

At Jackson Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Heidi spoke with medical doctors about what could possibly be accomplished to avoid wasting her leg. 

"I made the decision with the surgeon to take my leg off," she mentioned. "It was evident that it could not be saved.

"He didn't suppose that it might be a good suggestion to try to save the leg due to future issues with an infection. So I mentioned, 'Yeah, let’s simply do it. Let’s simply amputate' and that evening they took me into the working room and did it."

Heidi lost her leg from the shin down and had a sixth operation to close up the stump on Thursday. She said she did not blame the shark for the attack, but humans who had been feeding sharks on the surface.

"For a shark to return as much as the floor will not be a pure factor," she added.  "But the shark knew that there was meals available at a ship. And he thought my leg was the meals."

A GoFundMe web page has been arrange by Heidi's buddy Kim Barnes to assist pay for substantial medical and journey bills not lined by her insurance coverage.  

"Heidi is fearless, sort, light, giving, sincere, loves the whole lot nature, has a tremendous inexperienced thumb, an avid underwater photographer and a beautiful buddy," wrote Kim.

"Heidi is a proud, impartial girl that doesn't prefer to ask for assist however her buddies need to assist her and this can be a approach."