We all know that having kids give you Mama Bear powers, but one pregnant woman recently proved there's nothing more powerful or fearless than a mama (or mom-to-be!) protecting her family from danger. Twenty-nine-year-old Margot Dukes Eddy rushed to her husband’s rescue after 30-year-old Andrew Eddy, of Atlanta, was bit by a shark while snorkeling in the Florida Keys.
Before the attack, Eddy was on a private boat with his wife and her family.
The group set out on their trip on Sunday morning, September 20, at Sombrero Reef, ABC News reports.
Eddy was attacked almost immediately after getting into the water.
The shark took a bite of Eddy’s shoulder, notes a statement shared on the Monroe County Sheriff's Office’s Facebook page on September 20. Boaters in the area had alerted the sheriff's office about the bull shark earlier that day, before Eddy and his family arrived.
A witness said they believed the shark was 8 to 10 feet long.
Police don't think anyone had been fishing or spreading chum in the area before Eddy got there.
The mom-to-be didn’t hesitate for a second, she leapt into the water as soon as she saw her husband was hurt.
“Dukes saw the shark's dorsal fin and then blood filling the water. Dukes, without hesitation, dove into the water and pulled Eddy to the safety of the boat," Deputy Christopher Aguanno wrote in a police report that was later shared by ABC News.
He was taken from the water at around 10:30 a.m. and airlifted to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.
It’s not clear what Eddy’s current condition is, but in the Facebook post, police describe the wound as being “severe.”
Sheriff Rick Ramsay later praised the rescue team that helped save Eddy.
“This was a very rare medical crisis for the Florida Keys, but everyone came together — including those witnesses on the boat to 911 Communicators to all our emergency responders — in order to ensure this victim received life-saving care,” he wrote on Facebook.
