MARIETTA, Ga.,None — A 6-year-old Marietta girl received 22 stitches after her dad said she was bitten by a shark while on a family vacation at Fripp Island.
Last week while on family vacation, Ella Morris and her father, Craig, were in the ocean off South Carolina's Fripp Island.
"I felt something just nudge me in the back of my thigh and before I even had time for it to register, I felt something tug at her and she went under," said Craig Morris.
Doctors said that something was a shark.
"I closed the wound with my left hand to try to stop the bleeding and made a bee-line for the shore," said her dad.
SLIDESHOW: Shark Attack Photos (WARNING: Some Images May Be Considered Graphic) VIDEO: 6-Year-Old Marietta Girl Bitten By Shark
Ella was taken by ambulance to the closest hospital.
Ella's mother, Heidi, said she was amazed at her daughter's composure when they arrived at the hospital.
"She was fine, absolutely acted like there was nothing wrong," said Heidi Morris. "And I looked at (the wound) for the first time and it looked like a big chunk was missing."
Six doctors and 22 stitches later, Ella was better than her parents could have hoped for.
Ella's memory of her trip to the emergency room?
"I got to watch TV," she said. "And I got three popsicles."
Her parents said they were just happy there was no severe nerve or muscle damage.
Her father said he is proud of the way his daughter has handled the incident.
He said, "Even on the way home, she made the comment, ‘It wasn't the shark's fault. It was just an accident.'"