Cheating death, a new chat show

[sianrose]

Cheating death, a new chat show

Shark attack survivor Zac Golebiowski, whose story is told in I Survived, at Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville.

So it's with interest that I watch I Survived - a documentary series where people explain how, against unfriendly odds, they "cheated" death and lived to tell the tale.

Take Zac Golebiowski, whose surfing expedition went slightly awry when a curious sea creature OK, a great white shark decided to show him life below the surface by gently tugging on his leg. Well, it was more than a gentle tug.

"The shark took a bite and managed to rip my leg off," Zac says. "When I came to the surface, I knew it was a shark. I saw the water was red and yelled for help. I could see the thigh bone sticking out of my leg. It was at that point I knew something was wrong."

I'm beginning to concede this may be a bigger story of survival than the jellyfish sting.

Not only is the victim 80km from help, he's a Jehovah's Witness. So when he miraculously makes it to hospital, he won't take a transfusion.

"We don't take blood transfusions, blood is sacred to us," he explains. "I wrote on a piece of paper, 'I am a Jehovah's Witness and I don't want blood' throughout it. I was praying to Jehovah through the whole ordeal and I think that helped me a lot."

He later hears fishermen at the scene of the attack see his leg washed up on the beach.

"You expect it (shark) to get some kind of enjoyment and eat it at least. Spitting it back out is a bit of a slap in the face," Zac says.

- By Darren Devlyn

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/the-weeks-best-tv/story-fn948wjf-1226246690885#ixzz1lEn0PrDv