Getting attacked by a shark is typically thought of as one of the worst things that can happen to someone. For Eugene Finney, however, it actually turned out to be one of the best, as it saved his life!

It all started when Eugene decided to take a dip in the ocean when he was in California on vacation with his wife and children near Huntington Beach. As he swam in the water, Eugene suddenly felt a huge force hit his back.

“As we started surfacing, something struck me from behind,” he recalled. “It hit me dead center in the top of my back, and it knocked us deep down, further into the water… I started swimming to get us to the surface…I was starting to get short of breath. It was pretty jarring. It kind of gave me an instant whiplash.”

In shock from the blow, Eugene was focused on getting his daughter out of the water when she noticed he was bleeding. Once out of the water, Eugene realized there was a giant gash down his back, but he had no idea what happened.

It was only when he was reading the newspaper the next morning that he saw there was a shark warning at Huntington Beach. A surfer had been bumped by the great white shark right near where Eugene was swimming. Eugene came to the shocking realization that he was attacked by a shark!

Despite the fact that the was in intense pain, Eugene decided to finish out the vacation with his family. As he flew back to Massachusetts, however, the pain got to be so bad that he knew he needed help.

He went to the emergency room and was given a series of X-rays, and doctors had some sobering news for him when the results came back. Though the bite wasn’t worrisome, doctors discovered a tumor on Eugene’s kidney. More scans revealed that though the tumor was large, the cancer had not spread yet. Since they caught it so early, doctors were able to perform a simple procedure to remove the tumor and Eugene wouldn’t have to undergo any radiation or chemotherapy.

Thanks to this quick procedure, Eugene is now cancer free! These days, he feels like a very lucky man.

“If this didn’t happen with the shark, causing me to go in with this chest pain, I would have never known about this cancer,” he said. “I feel fortunate. I really feel like I’ve gotten a second chance at life and I’m not going to blow it.”

This just goes to show that God truly works in mysterious ways! Find out more about this in the video below!