Cameron Wrathall: Blackwall Reach shark attack survivor laps up second chance with emotional river return

Splashing around in the glassy, inviting waters of Bicton’s Blackwall Reach, Cameron Wrathall appears to be just another swimmer enjoying the serenity. But as he emerges and immediately reaches for the walking stick that is now his constant companion, the reminders are all too vivid of a surprise Swan River shark attack that all but took his life. The 8am dip is at exactly the same time and at exactly the same place, almost two years to the day that a bull shark charged into him so hard it snapped the top of his femur and left gaping leg wounds on January 14, 2021. “It’s a fantastic place, just beautiful,” Mr Wrathall blurts incredulously in contrast to the ordeal he has endured as he declares he is nearly ready for regular river swims again. “This river is such a metaphor for life and I find it very therapeutic. Things could have been a lot different and I have a great sense of gratitude for just being alive and a joy for the simple things in life and how important they are. “I don’t dwell on the past or the future, I just deal with what’s happening at any particular time.” The father-of-two, who has cheated death more times than most, not only thrived in returning to the scene of his attack, he has built a powerful skill set to start developing a presentation to help others overcome pain and trauma. He survived epileptic seizures in primary school, was hospitalised and put in an induced coma after contracting staphylococcal meningitis in high school, suffered facial injuries when smashed by a flying concrete air hose in his 20s and at the age of about 40, had serious burns requiring spray-on skin after a gas canister blew up in front of him in his back yard. Mr Wrathall recounts the story of his brush with shark attack death with incredible ease. “It was like a freight train,” he said. He recalls having the presence of mind to swim the 100m to shore before he passed out and could still picture the grisly scene, including the panic of those helping him get from the water and into an ambulance in a frantic 20 minutes or so that left him perilously close to bleeding to death. “I remember looking back into the water at an oil slick of blood where I’d swum in and a big pool of blood where it had happened,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking much at all and wasn’t aware I was dying. I felt quite peaceful.” The searching scars across his left leg are an explanation of the incident in themselves, backed up by Mr Wrathall’s confirmation that the brutal bite and shark’s subsequent violent head-shaking opened up most of his thigh and ruptured his sciatic nerve in several places near his buttock. It meant he can barely engage any of his muscles from the buttock down through the back of his leg and he has bone spurs where his body has tried to heal itself. The wound pictures on his phone from the day of the attack are too gruesome to publish. His heart stopped in the ambulance, requiring electric shocks to jolt him back to life. Mr Wrathall is living with permanent disability from his injuries and has no feeling in his right foot, apart from searing nerve pain. But he exudes a clear mental toughness that has no doubt been strengthened by his many life challenges. He said it took him several days, through a heavily-medicated blur, to make sense of what had happened to him. But once his mind cleared and he confronted his reality, following a month of rehabilitation in Fiona Stanley Hospital, he quickly set out on a quest for his new life normal. A positive mindset and daily mindfulness meditation sessions have been stronger emotional crutches than the physical stick that aids his walking and he has been building his fitness and resilience in pool swimming visits. Amid all that, maintaining a sharp sense of humour has helped him rebuild. He even jokes that he is going to see if he will be “another piece of bait” as he slides back into the Blackwall Reach riverfront. “That’s been very important because it helps you keep a sense of perspective, he said. Mr Wrathall also proudly wears his “Bite Club” shirt to recognise the predominantly-Australian group of shark attack survivors he says have given him valuable support. Several of them had visited him while he was still in his hospital bed. He said news of new shark attacks never triggered difficult flashbacks, like the realistic ones he had in his early days in hospital, but they did not go without some impact. “It doesn’t really bring it back, but it does create a strong sense of empathy for what the people might be going through,” he said. “It makes you feel like you want to reach out to the person to help, if it was something they wanted.” Mr Wrathall’s eldest of two daughters, 29-year-old Cian, said their father’s determination had been instructional for them both. “He’s been remarkable and we’re extremely proud of him,” she said. “He’s extremely strong-willed and showcases a lot of resilience, which he’s passed onto us and we’re very grateful to have him alive.”