Surfer who lost a limb surfing on North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie is in talks with doctors for a prosthetic

Surfer Kai McKenzie whose leg was severed as he fought off a three-metre shark has spoken about the difficulties he has faced since the attack.

Surfer Kai McKenzie whose leg was severed as he fought off a three-metre shark is in discussions with experts to have a prosthetic fitted above the knee in a mission to return to the water before the end of the year.

The accomplished surfer, 23, who spent two months in hospital coming to terms with the fact emergency surgery failed to reattach his right leg after he was attacked at the isolated North Shore Beach, near Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast, admits he has turned to dark humour to conceal his anguish, saying, “It’s been a s**t show…

“I don’t want to be associated with this forever. I don’t want it to become my whole identity,” he said.

McKenzie was able to fight off the shark, kicking it repeatedly before catching a wave into shore, where he was helped by an off duty police officer who fashioned a makeshift tourniquet to stem the bleeding using his puppy’s lead.

Kai McKenzie, pictured with girlfriend Eve, has been coming t terms with losing a limb in an attack by a great white off a remote Mid-North Coast beach in NSW. Picture: supplied

Speaking to Stab surf magazine, Kai admitted the difficulties he has faced coming to terms with the physical and emotional changes the attack has left him facing. The hurt he has felt when strangers gawp at the missing limb has left him reeling, he said.

“It’s been raw. Some people can’t read a room and can be pretty insensitive,” he said.

“Hopefully, once I get a prosthetic it’ll be different.

Accomplished surfer Kai McKenzie lost a leg while surfing on isolated North Shore Beach, near Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast.

“For now, I’m just cruising around on crutches, so it sticks out like dog balls. Aye if it wasn’t for Eve (girlfriend) and my parents sticking by my side the whole f***ing time, my mind would be in a totally different place to what it is now. And for that I’m thankful.”

Since the attack McKenzie, from Bonny Hills on the coast of the Tasman Sea

boasting beaches with some of the most powerful waves, has been in a whirlwind of check-ups and consultations with doctors and nursing staff.

He was visited in hospital by the police officer who saved his life.

Kai McKenzie was rushed to hospital after he was attacked by a shark while in the water off North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie in NSW. Picture: Instagram

“He came and saw me at the hospital and it was huge. I would 100 per cent not be here if it wasn’t for him,” he said.

“Thank f**k he had a dog lead,” he mused.

American professional surfer Bethany Hamilton, who herself survived a shark attack in which her left arm was severed in 2003, contacted him several days after his attack.

“She was on holiday and she just said to me, ‘You don’t know what you can do. There hasn’t been anyone who’s lost a leg that can surf like you.’ She just gave me a rundown of the reality of it and changed my whole perspective to stay positive,” he said.

Surfer Kai McKenzie, pictured with girlfriend Eve, was rushed to hospital after he was attacked by a shark while in the water off North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie in NSW. Picture: Instagram

Kai struggled to learn a video of the attack was leaked while he was convalescing in ICU at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle. “There’s no respect. That’s all I see it as. If that was your kid, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to see it either,” he said.

McKenzie has remained upbeat on social media making light of the attack.

“Spot something missing?” he joked of his missing leg in one Instagram post.

Kai McKenzie says if it wasn’t for the support of family and friends his morale would be a “whole different story”. Picture supplied

At the time of the attack he posted: “A few days ago I went through a crazy shark attack (biggest shark I’ve ever seen) which was a very crazy scene and scared the living f**k out of me.”

McKenzie’s leg washed up on the shore and flown to John Hunter hospital but could not be reattached.

While he’s acutely conscious of the challenges of fitting an above-knee prosthetic within the next few months, he remains focused on his goal of returning to the water.

A friend said McKenzie wants to be “back in that water in no time”.

Originally published as Surfer who lost a limb surfing on North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie is in talks with doctors for a prosthetic