An Australian spearfisherman has revealed how an eerie vision during a vicious shark attack gave him the strength to fight back and survive.
Glenn Dickson, 33, was grabbed by a 3.5m bull shark on Hinchinbrook Island off the coast of Far North Queensland in February 2017.
He said he was excited to go diving and spearfishing on a “beautiful day” on the island.
“It felt like I was hit by a truck and then I became a rag doll in a washing machine,” he told The Project on Wednesday.
“My body was already trying to swim without me even thinking about it with my other limbs.”
He finally reached safety, but not before the shark made three more attempts at him, pulling him into the water each time.
'A very soft white light came over me; my little girl Leila said, “Daddy, come home,” he said.
“That moment was when I went from 'this is the end of my life' to 'I'm going to find everything I can humanly possible do to get through this.'
'A very soft white light came over me; My little girl Leila said, 'Daddy, come home,'” Mr. Dickson said
Queensland man lost almost a quarter of the femur of his right leg to the 3.5-metre bull shark
The attack left him with only a quarter of his femur in his right leg.
“My immediate reaction was that at least I survived, that kind of fear and knowing how close I was to death, I was just happy to be alive.”
Since that day, Mr. Dickson has had repeated nightmares and “dreams of being torn apart again.”
But while accepting his disability, he rekindled his love for training Muay Thai.
Just last year he took part in Australia's first amputee mixed-martial arts cage fight in Cairns.
The 33-year-old also advocated against shark culling in Queensland in the years after the attack.
He told Daily Mail Australia he has no animosity towards the predators.
“Sharks, like everything else, are important to the ecosystem and we are already doing enough damage,” he said.
While coming to terms with his disability, Mr. Dickson reignited his love for training Muay Thai
“We don't need to wipe out an entire species that is crucial to the ocean ecosystem.”
Mr Dickson said he is '100 per cent' against culling, drum lines and shark nets, despite one claiming they may have prevented his attack.
“We get in the water and play with their food source, eventually something will happen if you do that,” he said.
Australia typically experiences 20 shark attacks per year, of which about three are fatal.
