A man who survived a brutal shark attack is thankful to be alive, crediting nearby boaters for saving his life.

David Daniel, 43, was bitten by a shark while fishing near a sandbar on Boca Grande Key Beach in Key West, Fla., on Sunday, Aug. 23.

He first attempted to avoid the nurse shark, which was estimated to be six or seven feet, as it swam along the beach line, he told local news outlet WSVN. But when Daniel “started to move a little bit,” the shark turned directly toward him and bit the top of his foot.

While the shark let go of Daniel’s foot, “realizing [he] wasn’t a fish or crab or whatever they wanted to eat,” Daniel still suffered severe injuries. “I looked down in the water, and there was so much blood in the water. I said, ‘There’s no way you’re getting off this beach,’ ” he told TODAY from his hospital bed.

David Daniel with emergency personnel.gofundme
Daniel added that he was “absolutely” worried about whether or not he would survive. “Sitting on the beach, bleeding out, I really was kind of making peace with myself, going, ‘If it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go,’ ” he said.

Nearby boaters, who happened to be nurses, quickly brought him to shore and helped him until the U.S. Coast Guard arrived and airlifted him to Jackson South Medical Center. “Then when I saw the two nurse people come up, they were like angels coming out of nowhere,” Daniel told TODAY.

“If it weren’t for them, I would 100% be dead on the beach. Grace to God that they were all medically trained people and nurses and EMTs,” he told WSVN.

David Daniel in the Florida hosptial.gofundme
Nurse Courtney McMurray told TODAY that she was in the “right place at the right time,” adding that she and her fellow nurse Chris Green were “meant to be there.”

Green told WSVN that he and McMurray were simply doing their job “to help control the bleeding and get the limb elevated, and we hollered for somebody to call the Coast Guard.”

After their assistance, Daniel was hospitalized, where he underwent two surgeries and is now feeling “pretty stable,” he told WSVN. “I can’t really move around at all. My foot is in a boot, and it’s all wrapped up from the surgeries. I feel okay, like pretty strong.”

“Just my blood pressure’s acting a little funny because, you know, I just got attacked by a shark,” he said. “So I’m kind of just trying to stay positive and think of all the good people that are helping me out and trying to stay in a good mindset and happy,” Daniel said.

David Daniel’s foot.gofundme
He was discharged on Wednesday, Aug. 26, and will have a months-long recovery that will include physical therapy. Daniel said since the attack he’s feeling “incredibly humble and thankful.”

“I realized that every minute does count in your life. One minute you could be walking around having a great time, looking at beautiful weather and having fun with friends. And the next minute, you could literally be dead,” he told WSVN. “So I really have to look at myself and remember to be thankful for everyone around me and what I do have. And to express that more and tell people that you care about them and that you appreciate them being around you.”

A GoFundMe page was created to help Daniel, who is currently uninsured, with his sudden medical expenses. As of publication, it has raised over $7,400 of its $16,000 goal.