An Instagram model said she’s fortunate to still have her arm after a nurse shark latched onto it and dragged her under water while the woman was swimming with a school of seemingly harmless sharks in the Bahamas last month.

Katarina Zarutskie, 19, an avid surfer from Laguna Beach, Calif., and a nursing student, told Fox News she was on vacation with her boyfriend and his family when locals told her about the opportunity to swim with nurse sharks in Staniel Cay. She added the locals were “very encouraging” in telling her to try the activity.

“We had seen all these nurse sharks swimming around the marina and I had already known, because I’ve surfed my whole life [that nurse sharks are relatively harmless]…I thought it was safe and I saw kids snorkeling, and against my boyfriend’s family’s wishes I thought it would be fine,” Zarutskie said.

The nursing student recalled everything being fine when she first entered the water — until she leaned back and held her arms out. Her boyfriend’s father was snapping pictures and captured the moment the shark sank its teeth into her arm and pulled her under.

The 19-year-old said it’s been a journey healing the bite wound. Zarutskie encountered multiple complications and doctors believe there may still be “pieces of the tooth” lodged in her arm.

"It was a humbling experience and I've learned a lot,” she said.

Despite the scary experience, Zarutskie told Fox News she still loves the wildlife and sharks and hopes to bring awareness to the animals. As for returning to Staniel Cay, the California native said she would go back in a heartbeat.

•Excerpted from Fox News

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