THE first step for swimmer Ali Truwit was overcoming her newfound fear of the one place she had always felt safe — the water.

Because the sound of water, any sound involving water, instantly triggered flashbacks to the day she swam for her life after being bitten by a shark.

She and a friend were snorkelling in the ocean off Turks and Caicos on May 24 2023, when a shark charged and bit Truwit’s lower left leg. Bleeding and with the shark circling, Truwit went into competitive swim mode and raced 75 yards toward the safety of the boat. Truwit was rushed to the hospital and airlifted to the United States, where she had three surgeries, including one to amputate her leg below the knee.