Shark Attack Victim Credits God Following Deadly Bite -- But You Won't Believe the Other Bizarre Things He's Allegedly Survived

Erik Norrie's story is a harrowing one, but in the end, he's a survivor. While vacationing in the Bahamas on July 29, Norrie was attacked by a shark. At the time, he was snorkeling and spear-fishing in five-feet of water with his family when the sea creature took a chunk out of his leg. His survival, Norrie says, can be wholly credited to his faith in God.

Despite his upbeat nature in discussing his most recent plight, the man seems to regularly have the odds stacked against him. According to WTVT-TV, Norrie has had his fair share of bizarre experiences. He's apparently been struck by lightning (there's about a one in 700,000 chance of this happening each year), bitten by a rattlesnake (fewer than one in 37,500 are bitten by poisonous snakes each year) and punched by monkeys two times (no stats are readily available on this phenomenon).

Yes, you read all of that correctly. Norrie is highly-experienced in dealing with relatively uncommon -- and unpalatable -- experiences. And shark attacks are the rarest of these incidents. After all, the chances of being bitten were, in 2000, just one in 11.5 million, according to the  International Shark Attack File at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

As for his latest experience, Norrie says that he thought he was going to die in the wake of the shark attack and that God sustained him. From his hospital bed (he's expected to need several major skin graft surgeries), he told WVTV-TV that his faith in God is what brought him through.

"I didn't keep my head cool. The Lord kept my head cool, because I couldn't have done it without Him," he told the outlet.

His wife and daughters, too, prayed out loud as they rushed to seek medical attention following the attack and were overjoyed that their pleas for a miracle were answered.

Photo Credit: WVTV-TV

While the news outlet doesn't mention his specific faith perspective, based on verses that he regularly shares on his personal Facebook page, Norrie is a Christian.

His LinkedIn page says that he lives in Largo, Florida, and that he is the CEO of New Nautical Coatings, Inc., a company that provides paint and finishing to ships and boats.

It also appears Norrie wrote a book, entitled, "Stepping Into the Light." On Amazon, it's description reads:

Stepping into the light is for those who want to learn how to grow in their walk with the Lord. It clearly explains in fresh, dynamic ways how to understand the principles needed to live a fruitful life with ever increasing faith. We all face obstacles. Often times unexpected events knock us off track. But this book is for people who are interested in getting back up and moving ahead. The choices we make, the attitudes we have, the pressure from friends that can sway us from the right decisions, all are part of the daily decisions we can meet head on and even use to make us stronger and better prepared to live a life of victory.

It seems Norrie has quite a story to tell. With a shark attack, lightning strike, monkey punches and a rattlesnake bite behind him, the Christian businessman has quite a convincing tale of faith and perseverance to tell.

(H/T: WVTV-TV)

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