A Shark Attack Saved This Man’s Life

“[It hit] harder than I’ve ever been hit in my life”, the 39-year-old told the Sentinel and Enterprise.

The reality of the situation hit him as he washed blood from his back at the beach shower, and his girlfriend, Emeline McKeown, saw fins in the water and lifeguards ordering everyone to leave the water.

The newspaper reported that Finney, 39, had been at Huntington Beach in Orange County, Calif., with his girlfriend and two children, his 6-year-old son, Turner, and his 10-year-old daughter, Temple, to visit his parents.

Eugene, from Fitchburg, Massachusetts, was enjoying a family holiday at Huntington Beach, California, when he encountered the shark during a leisurely swim.

But for Mr Eugene Finney, his encounter with one apex predator from the deep could have very well saved his life.

“I really had no idea what happened”.

The incident left Mr Finney with a pain that afflicted his back, abdomen and upper body. He went to the emergency room, and finally was given a diagnosis.

“They had discovered a growth, or a tumour, on my right kidney about the size of a walnut”, Mr Finney said.

When Finney returned to Massachusetts, doctors told him he had internal bruising from blunt force trauma.

And he says that catching the disease early saved his life. They told him it was genetic, and Finney inferred that he likely inherited the condition from his maternal grandmother, who died of stomach cancer. “That night I started having pretty serious chest and back pains”, he said.

The tumor, which was cancerous, was removed two weeks ago by Dr. Ingolf Tuerk at the hospital using minimally invasive robotic surgery.

“That’s pretty fascinating when you think about it”.

Luckily, Finney doesn’t need radiation or chemotherapy treatment.