Aimee Johns

Aimee Johns helped rescue Stephen F. Bruemmer from a shark attack, Pacific Grove, California, June 22, 2022. Bruemmer, 62, was swimming in the Pacific Ocean at a point about 450 feet from shore when a great white shark, later determined to be at least 14.5 feet long, attacked him. During the attack Bruemmer’s upper left arm was severely lacerated, and he sustained wounds to his lower abdomen and legs, just above the knees. After being pulled under water for about 15 seconds, the attack ceased, and Bruemmer, bleeding profusely, rose to the surface and, floating on his back, called for help. Johns, 49, a registered nurse and her husband, 42, an off-duty police officer, were on paddleboards about 900 feet north of Bruemmer when they heard his calls for help. Responding, they saw Bruemmer afloat and surrounded by bloody water as they approached his position. Meanwhile, a business owner who was on the beach had been alerted to Bruemmer’s plight and used two stacked surfboards to paddle to.  Johns, her husband, and the business owner pushed, pulled, and rolled Bruemmer onto one of the surfboards, and the business owner towed Bruemmer toward shore by paddling on a board while Bruemmer grasped his right ankle. Meanwhile, Johns entered the water and grasped the back of the towed board to keep Bruemmer’s legs from sliding off the board. Johns also kicked her legs to help propel Bruemmer’s towed board toward the beach. Her husband followed on his paddleboard while pushing hers toward shore and called 911 on his cellphone. When Bruemmer’s board reached the beach, Johns, her husband, and the business owner helped bystanders — which included a doctor, an intensive care nurse and a nurse anesthetist, who put tourniquets on Bruemmer’s limbs — carry Bruemmer toward arriving paramedics. Bruemmer, who suffered significant blood loss, underwent emergency surgery to repair his wounds. Bruemmer continued his recovery several months later.  Johns had a strained shoulder and missed a week of work due to acute stress but recovered.