PONCHATOULA- Gavin Cressionnie is six years old, and already has a story many people could never tell. 

On Sunday, the brave six-year-old was out with his family doing what many Louisianans do to beat the heat. They were enjoying a swim in Lake Maurepas, something they do often. Suddenly, a normal day on the lake took a horrifying turn. 

"The fear of God was in his eyes, he screamed something bit him, I snatched him out of the water...There was an alligator following us back to the boat." Brett Cressionnie, Gavin's Dad tells WBRZ. 

The gator latched onto the child's foot, leaving behind a bite mark. The family says the gator was roughly five feet long. 

They quickly took Gavin to the hospital to check for infections. On the way there, Cressionnie says Gavin not only calmed down himself, but everyone else. 

"He's come through like a champ, he's definitely strong," Cressionnie said. 

The entire family is proud of how Gavin handled the terrifying situation. 

"I didn't cry, at all," Gavin tells WBRZ. 

Gavin's foot was wrapped up Tuesday at Kleibert Alligator & Son's Gator Tours. At the store, Gavin could be seen sporting his new shoes his parents bought for him to go along with a new nickname they coined for him. 

"He has now adopted the name 'Gator Gavin' and since they don't make any shoes called 'gators' that we know of, my wife bought him a pair of Crocs."

They also got him another cool gift that will be placed on his dresser. 

"An alligator head," Gavin said. 

And why a gator head?  

"Because I got bit by one," Gavin replied. 

Despite the cool nicknames and gator heads for his room, his family is thankful that their son was left with just a bite mark. 

"It could have been a whole lot worse, but fortunately we are here today and are able to tell the story that he's now going to carry for the rest of his life," his father said. 

Gavin was given antibiotics, and doctors said he should be just fine.