Anna Maria Island shark-bite victim has surgery; six friends on national TV

MANATEE -- While the six friends who saved his life were being interviewed by Good Morning America Monday, CJ Wickersham wasn’t much up to joining in.

At 3:30 p.m. Monday surgeons at Bayfront Medical Center used 700 to 800 sutures to close the gaping wound left by a shark that chomped Wickersham’s left thigh Saturday, said Ella Wickersham, CJ’s mother.

“He was in so much pain after surgery he couldn’t smile,” Ella Wickersham said.

The six friends who pulled Longboat Key resident Wickersham out of the water north of the Rod & Reel Pier in Anna Maria Island after the shark attack will be on Good Morning America today, said Connor Bystrom, one of the six.

Ella and Mark Wickersham, CJ’s parents, say they feel blessed that their son might be out of the hospital by this weekend.

“They made him walk a little earlier today before surgery which was hard for him but they had to get him going,” Ella Wickersham said. “He’s a big guy, 6-foot-2, 225 pounds. What is amazing is that the shark didn’t touch a bone in his leg. It was a miracle.”

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 6686.

This story was originally published September 27, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Anna Maria Island shark-bite victim has surgery; six friends on national TV."