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02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

Listing of the Shark Attack Related Incidents occurring in 2009. 2009 Shark Attacks
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alb
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Re: 02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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Shark victim returns to water as navy diver

Eighteen months since losing his hand and leg to a shark attack in Sydney Harbour, Paul de Gelder has now returned to his beloved job as a navy diver.

With bionic hand and prosthetic leg, the 32-year-old is jumping back in the water after an intense rehabilitation.

"It was really long and really hard to get to this point and a lot of pain but with good support I'm so stoked to be in there," he told Nine News.

De Gelder was testing equipment in Sydney Harbour near Woolloomooloo early one morning in February 2009 when in an instant a bull shark mauled one of his hands and a leg.

His new job is training would-be elite divers for the Australian Navy.

When asked if he fears returning to the same waters, he says: "I don't even think about it, not at all. It doesn't cross my mind. I just love being in there."

And the prosthetic doesn't hold him back in the water either. "It's obviously not as mobile as a normal leg but it does the job. It doesn't stop me from doing anything," he said.

He credits his training in both the Army and Navy for teaching him the discipline and mental strength that aided his recovery.

"I think that that really matured me, it brought me a long way and it gave me the discipline to put pain to the back of my mind and get on the job," he said.


http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/795 ... navy-diver
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sharkbait
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Re: 02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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Shark attack victim Paul de Gelder takes to the surfboard


newsPeople18 Mar 10 @ 04:33pm by PETER BODKIN

Former navy diver Paul de Gelder in the surf.
Former navy diver Paul de Gelder in the surf.
Paul_De_Gelder.jpg (11.87 KiB) Viewed 26305 times
Former navy diver Paul de Gelder in the surf. Picture: BRADEN FASTIER



DESPITE his prosthetic leg, shark attack victim Paul de Gelder blew onlookers away with his board-riding ability when he returned to the water on Wednesday for a lesson with Manly Surf School.

Surf instructor Nick James took the learner through his paces and watched as his student successfully got to his feet and rode the waves.

Mr de Gelder, a former navy diver, lost his right hand and right leg during a shark attack in February 2009 while he was diving on duty in Sydney Harbour.

Mr James, who has been with the school for nearly seven years, said he was gobsmacked by his student’s ability.

“He was amazing for a guy who’s got one leg and basically one arm,” he said. “He blew me away, I couldn’t believe how well he surfed. His jump-up was as good as, if not better than, most of the students we get here.”

The lesson will be featured in one of 10 episodes of a TV series currently under production called Manly Surf, which is the brainchild of four locals. Creator Daniel Starling said the series focused on Manly Surf School.


http://manly-daily.whereilive.com.au/ne ... surfboard/
sharkbait
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Re: 02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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Man mauled by shark is back

A NAVY diver who lost a hand and a leg in a Sydney Harbour shark attack is back diving and walking, and says he wants to return to work at the scene of the attack.

Doctors said navy clearance diver Paul de Gelder was lucky to survive the mauling by a 2.7-metre bull shark off Garden Island Naval Base on February 11.

After seven weeks in hospital, Mr de Gelder says he is determined to put the experience behind him.

He is already walking with a prosthetic leg, driving high performance cars and confronting his fears head-on by swimming with sharks at an Manly's Oceanarium.

The extremely fit 31-year-old appeared comfortable examining graphic medical photographs of his injuries taken just before doctors decided to amputate his leg and hand.

Asked whether he planned on being a Navy clearance diver again, he said: "I do, I've never stopped''.

After five years as a clearance diver and working on peacekeeping mission in East Timor, he said his goal was to get back to working exactly where he was before the incident.

"That will be something that I'll have to do,'' he told the Nine Network.

"It's going to be a tough bridge to cross, but you can't show weakness.''

Mr de Gelder gave a vivid account of the savage 6.30am (AEDT) attack while visiting the scene north of the Garden Island docks.

"It's all a little bit nerve-wracking really,'' he said.

"I kind-of wish I didn't come out that day but you can't change the past. You have to look to the future.''

He said that during equipment testing sharks were "everywhere'' off Garden Island and the thought of the predators circling came into his mind "every time''.


"You just put it to the back of your mind and try not to worry about it.

"You have an obligation, a role and a job that you have to get on with so you don't let the things that scare you stop you from doing that.''

He said sharks were in his mind on the morning the attack.

Mr de Gelder was on the surface when the shark began mauling his leg and hand.

"I was swimming on my back. I had my fins on and a wetsuit on, and I was just checking my direction and when I got halfway back from turning around I got hit in the leg and looked down and there was a big toothy grin.

"'(It was) grey, white, toothy and beady.

"I'd never seen a shark up close before. To see it like that was not something you expect.

"You look down and there's a big monster attached to you and your mind goes into panic mode.''


http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0 ... 49,00.html
sharkbait
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Re: 02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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NAVY diver Able Seaman Paul de Gelder has had his leg amputated today after already losing his hand in a shark attack last week.

The 31-year-old is due to release a statement in the next hour but is believed to be in "good spirits" while recovering in St Vincent’s Hospital.

He has been surrounded by family who have kept a bedside vigil at his bed.

Mr de Gelder was attacked by a shark while on a training exercise near Garden Island at about 7am last Wednesday.

Only a day later, a surfer at Bondi Beach was attacked by another shark and has had to have microsurgery to save his hand.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 09,00.html
sharkbait
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Re: 02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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Able Seaman Clearance Diver Paul Degelder, who fought off a shark attack in Sydney Harbour by punching the shark repeatedly
Able Seaman Clearance Diver Paul Degelder, who fought off a shark attack in Sydney Harbour by punching the shark repeatedly
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sharkbait
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02/11/2009 Navy Diver Paul Degelder ( Australia )

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A NAVY diver has been attacked by a shark at Woolloomooloo in Sydney Harbour early today. the 31-year-old man has lost a hand and part of a leg in the incident at the Navy base near the iconic Harrys Cafe de Wheels



Reports of shark attack at Woolloomooloo in Sydney Harbour
February 11, 2009 07:15am

A NAVY diver has been attacked by a shark at Woolloomooloo in Sydney Harbour early today.

Paramedics have revealed the 31-year-old man has lost a hand and part of a leg in the incident at the Navy base near the iconic Harrys Cafe de Wheels.

Thediver was carring out a routine exercise off the HMAS Darwin docked at Garden Island when he was apparently attacked, The Daily Telegraph understands.

The man has been taken to hospital with injuries to his right hand and leg at about 7am.

A defence media spokesman declined to confirm any details, saying they would release a statement shortly.

Shark attacks in Sydney Harbour have become rare events, although people are frequently warned not to swim there.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... public_rss
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