Maria Korcsmaros, 53, was just starting a practice swim while training for a half-Ironman on May 29, 2015. About 200 yards from the shore of Corona del Mar State Beach in California, she suddenly felt a piercing sensation in her torso.
“I thought, oh my God, I just got bit by a shark,” she remembered vividly. "I didn't see or hear anything — visibility was poor and I could only see about two feet down. It was murky."
Lifeguards were able to make their way out to her, on a boat, in less than a minute.
"Once they got me on the boat, I could see that my arm was gushing blood. My chest felt heavy and I couldn't breathe," Korcsmaros said. "They applied a tourniquet to my arm to stop the bleeding."
Korcsmaros remained conscious and remembers the entire ride to the hospital.
"I remember asking the paramedics to turn off my Garmin watch [a tracking device], so that I could get an accurate read on my swimming statistics later," Korcsmaros recalled, with a laugh.
"Because of all of the adrenaline, I didn't realize the pain I was in — I needed to fight for my survival. I needed to get to the hospital as quickly as I could," Korcsmaros recounted.
Korcsmaros was taken into surgery immediately. Because sharks have very dirty mouths, her doctors were nervous about infections, carefully cleaning every bite mark, from her upper shoulder to below her pelvis, and on her backside and lower body.
Later, shark experts from The Shark Lab at California State University, Long Beach determined she was attacked by a juvenile great white shark about nine to 10-feet long. They never found the shark.
Her tricep muscle was ripped off to the bone, but doctors were able to reattach it. Her other injuries were numerous: collapsed right lung, two broken ribs, punctured lungs, fractured pelvis and multiple wounds all over her upper body and arms.
Korcsmaros had 161 staples in her torso and arm, plus seven stitches
http://www.today.com/health/i-just-got-bit-shark-woman-shares-recovery-after-vicious-t103554
source today.com
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