This is what it's like to have your arm bitten off by a shark

This week two young people were seriously injured in separate shark attacks off the coast of North Carolina.

Twelve-year-old Kiersten Yow lost the portion of her arm below the elbow but is now expected to keep her leg that was also injured in the attack, while 16-year-old Hunter Treschl also lost an arm.

Speaking from his hospital bed, Hunter has been describing the moment he saw the shark, while he swam in waist-deep water with his cousin.

I felt this kind of hit on my left leg - like it felt like it was a big fish coming near you or something.

Then I felt it one more time then it just kind of hit my arm. That was the first I saw when it was biting up my left arm - and then it got that off eventually and it swam off.

It seems to me... at a certain point I've lost my arm so I have kind of two options.

I can try to live my life the way I was and make an effort to do that even though I don't have an arm - or I can let this be completely debilitating and bring my life down and ruin it in a way.

Out of those two there's really only one that I would actually choose to do and that is to try to fight and live a normal life with the cards I've been dealt.

Kiersten and Hunter were attacked within about 90 minutes of each other on Sunday on the same stretch of Oak Island beach. The previous Thursday a 13-year-old girl was also bitten on the foot by a shark.

More: [Every shark attack ever recorded, mapped]1