MIAMI -- A Jacksonville woman was in the hospital undergoing surgery Wednesday after apparently getting bitten by a shark off the Florida Keys.

Nineteen-year-old Ashley Silverman was on a boat Tuesday afternoon when she decided to jump into the water to cool off. She said immediately after she jumped in she could feel something biting her arm.

"I jumped in the water and felt a snap on my arm," Silverman said. "It was just pain. I felt like half of my arm was missing. There was blood everywhere and was just yelling for help."

Silverman's boyfriend managed to pull her out and get her to a hospital.

"As soon as she said, 'Baby help me,' was the first words out her mouth. I jumped in the water and tried to snatch her on to the boat as fast as I could," he said.

Her doctors said the animal that attacked her could have been a bull shark.

"Sharks' teeth face inward. So, when a shark bits and a shark doesn't let go and wiggles it head and the person tries to pull away from the shark, usually that tissue just gets ripped right out of the patient. That's exactly what happened in this case," said the plastic surgeon who was to repair Silverman's arm.

Doctors said with her surgery and rehabilitation, Silverman should get full use of her arm back.