Shark attack survivor thanks 'legends' who saved him

The West Australian surfer who looked a shark in the eye and survived wants the lasting legacy of his story to be the heroic behaviour of those who helped save his life.

Mel Ismail was surfing north of Geraldton in mid-September when he was bitten.

Three weeks after his harrowing ordeal, the firefighter and part-time teacher is adjusting to life without his lower leg.

But he plans to surf again.

Mr Ismail this week spent time with Shannan Dunn, who raced into the water while the shark was likely close by.

He said his spirits had lifted at the sight of the other man coming towards him.

"Your words were, 'I got you mate, we'll get you in. We're gonna get you in,'" Mr Ismail told Mr Dunn.

"Even when I [fell] off the front of the board, you went, 'That's alright, let's get back on, keep going, just keep going.'"

Mr Dunn recalled the chaotic paddle to shore as he struggled to keep Mr Ismail on the board.

"We were both off the board at stages, [then] we were both on there at the same time," he said.

"It was a bit of a mess, but we got there.

"If I was in the same situation, I'd want someone to come and get me."

The two had previously seen each other's faces in the surf while battling for waves, but said the rescue brought them together.

"One day when I get my leg better I'll probably have to throw a few waves his way," Mr Ismail said. 

"Maybe."

Mr Ismail extended his thanks to other beachgoers who helped save his life.

Chrissy and Rick, who asked to be identified by their first names, helped treat Mr Ismail when he made it to shore.

Teenage cousins Cruz and Clay McDonald and their friend Jasper Hill, surfing during the attack and initially none the wiser, rushed to shore to help.

They fashioned a second tourniquet out of one of their leg ropes, helped load Mr Ismail into Mr Dunn’s four-wheel drive, and kept his spirits high on the bumpy ride to the ambulance. 

Paramedics, volunteers, nurses and doctors then provided life-saving care.

"So many people take them for granted. They're heroes," Mr Ismail said.

"What they do, what they see and experience, they save people's lives. We don't hold them up highly enough and say, 'Hey, you're actually legends.'

"That's what I want to put out there as my story."

Losing a limb

Now back at home in Geraldton, Mr Ismail said the hardest part of his ordeal had been coming to terms with the loss of his right leg.

He said his family and community had flooded him with support, including a friend who had delivered hand-built wheelchair ramps for his house.

"I'm looking at it and trying to think, 'Hey, be positive, move forward,'" he said.

"I just can't walk outside anymore and do things. But I will be able to soon, maybe.

"If I want to go out into the garden or mow the lawn, that's sort of finished for a bit."

He has already returned to the gym and plans to eventually get back to work and back on a surfboard.

"I always call it 'adapt, improvise and overcome', so I'm going to go with that motto," he said.

"I got enough friends that want to see me in the water again.

"It might be on a soft top [surfboard] for starters. They might think I'm surfing better than I ever have."

Mr Ismail has not held his surfboard since it was broken during the shark attack and conceded it might bring back memories.

"I'll get my head around that probably in the next couple of weeks," he said.

"I'll see it with some friends around, and we'll work together through that."

Surfers 'know the risks'

He also did not hold resentment towards the shark, which was yet to be identified.

"Sometimes I say 'bloody shark' if I'm feeling down," he said.

"But at the end of the day they're there, they've always been there and I was probably just very unlucky on the day."

He said the fisheries department's inability to identify the animal was not a major factor for him.

"A shark took my leg. It wasn't an elephant, and it wasn't a donkey," he said.

Don't let fear stop you

The death of Perth man Greg O'Neill in a shark attack at Sorrento Beach four days after Mr Ismail lost his leg has sparked significant debate again around shark mitigation across WA.

It was a discussion Mr Ismail was happy to stay out of.

"Look, I knew the risks of being a surfer for many years and so have my friends," he said.

"What happened to me at Glennies was a random attack. It doesn't happen very often in this area.

"I don't know why [it happened]. Maybe because it's their domain and you are part of the food chain there."

He said people should not let fear stop them from doing what they enjoy.

"A shark attack does put fear into people," he said.

"There are so many car crashes, and we don't put enough fear into people about that. I've attended so many of them.

"Go back and do what you need to do. If you love surfing, surf."