When the shark first latched onto Tiffany Johnson’s arm, she thought she’d bumped into something. But something was wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. She turned around, never expecting to be face-to-face with a shark.

She fought through her fear and found a calmness in her faith -- even when she felt her arm detach from her body. Now, she’s coming to Gastonia to talk about how her faith in the Lord pushed her to survive and how losing an arm has opened up a whole new world.

Inspiring others

Johnson will share her testimony at 5 p.m. Sunday, April 28, at First Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall, 1621 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia. The event is sponsored by the Gastonia Parish Nurse Ministry.

Gastonia Parish Nurse Lisa Marisiddaiah was first made aware of Johnson’s testimony and ministry, Be An Overcomer Ministries, in 2018.

“What sort of intrigued me about her story is she immediately went to her faith,” said Marisiddaiah.

As the area’s faith community nurse, Marisiddaiah is always looking for programs that bring faith and health together. When she looked up Johnson’s story online after someone had mentioned Johnson’s testimony to her, Marisiddaiah knew Johnson’s story would do some good in Gaston County.

“As I heard about her situation, I thought it’d be something interesting for people to come hear about, but also as a parish nurse, I frequently work with folks who have a lot of crises in their life, and I’m often telling them to keep their faith strong,” she said.

Marisiddaiah leads the Parish Nurse Ministry and serves First United Methodist and First Presbyterian churches, providing care, outreach, and education opportunities to those in the community.

“Faith community health nursing is basically integrating faith and health and approaching folks from a holistic standpoint, so body, mind and spirit,” she said.

In this case, Johnson’s testimony covers all three bases and will hopefully become a source of inspiration for anyone going through a tough time.

“I feel her message could be something that inspires others. Here she’s taken something life changing but she’s making the most of it and she’s being positive and truly believes the Lord is leading her through helping others through this terrible situation she’s had to encounter,” said Marisiddaiah.

Be An Overcomer

Johnson had been on vacation in the Bahamas with her husband when the attack happened. Her focus was on surviving and returning home to her three children, never intending to later share her story with thousands of people.

But the country was captivated by the mom who fought back against a shark and found her strength through the Lord. The calls from the media started coming in, and requests for her to share her story only grew from there.

“When the attack happened in June 2017, the Lord provided a lot of opportunities for us to share our story with a lot of different media outlets,” she said. “That led to churches asking for us to spread the message of hope and overcoming.

The first opportunity to speak about her experience was only one month after the attack. A church in Raleigh asked Johnson to share her testimony.

At first, her speaking engagements were informal events. Soon, though, Johnson and her husband once again turned to the Lord, praying for guidance about whether or not to pursue this as a full-time venture.

Exactly one year after the attack, Johnson launched Be An Overcomer Ministries.

The name for the ministry came easy. She was already using “Be An Overcomer” on her social media platforms as a tagline.

Her ministry has taken her all the way to Michigan, where she’s originally from, and Wisconsin.

“This whole experience has been a journey. We have ups and downs -- more ups than downs, though. Just seeing the Lord’s faithfulness in it has been nothing short of miraculous,” she said.

A new normal

It’s been almost two years and Johnson has adjusted to her forever-changed life, but it’s not been without its challenges.

“It’s just a constant journey of healing and learning the new normal for what it looks like for us. I have to do things differently. Everyday tasks are different from what I did before,” said Johnson. “I never realized how involved both hands are.”

Johnson has worked in the healthcare industry for the 13 years, but had to take six months off after the attack. The skin at the end of her arm died, and she was met with complications during the healing process.

Then came the prosthetics.

She’s working on her sixth prosthetic, but getting fitted for one and learning how to use it are all challenges in and of itself. But still, she turns to her faith when times are rough.

“Just knowing I shouldn’t be here and it’s a miracle, I’m able to go through this struggle and it helps me have right mindset of even if I can’t play video games or put my girls’ hair up on my own, at least I’m here and they still have their mom,” she said.

Johnson’s story of faith, determination and willpower has afforded her another unexpected opportunity. She is also the coauthor of a book called “Endurance - Going The Distance From The Valley To The Mountaintop,” a collection of personal essays from people who have exhibited great endurance in their life.

Johnson will have copies of “Endurance” for sale at the event.

She’s inviting anyone who finds themselves in a dark place to come hear her story.

“For those that are struggling through something or know somebody going through adversity in any way, I really believe hearing my story and what we’ve been through will help encourage them and give them hope,” she said.

Admission to the event is free, but registration is required by April 25. Call 704-864-2651.

Reach reporter Brandy Beard at bbeard@gastongazette.com or 704-869-1840.