Woman Bitten by Shark Faces Long Recovery, Doctors Say
"She seems like a very strong lady," Dr. Roberto Sauri said.
— -- A Canadian woman who suffered a vicious shark bite at a California beach on Sunday will have a long road toward recovery, doctors treating her wounds said today.
The shark, believed to be a great white, bit Maria Korcsmaros from her shoulder all the way down to her pelvis, causing "significant" open wounds to the arm, upper body and pelvis, doctors at Orange County Global Medical Center said in a press conference.
"She had extensive lacerations to her right arm, and multiple lacerations from her upper torso with open chest wounds extending down to her pelvis," said Dr. Humberto Sauri, adding she suffered an abdominal wall disruption.
"Remarkably, her nerves are all functioning," Dr. Phillip Rotter added, admitting he had never seen such a trauma before. "You can see individual marks from individual teeth. It’s a serious wound and is at risk of infection. I'm amazed that her nerves are still functioning."
Even so, doctors warn it is too early to tell if Korcsmaros will recover enough to have function of her seriously wounded arm.
The caretakers said Korcsmaros' physical fitness certainly played a role in her survival. She is a personal trainer and aerobics instructor, according to her Facebook page.
"She was able to tread the water and hold her own until help arrived," Rotter said.
Sauri said they will continue to monitor her condition, noting, "She seems like a very strong lady. She is remarkably calm," and "doing remarkably well at this point."
A portion of the Newport Beach coast will reopen Wednesday morning after a final helicopter and boat survey of the waters, Lifeguard Battalion Chief Brent Jacobsen told ABC News today. Ocean access from Corona del Mar State Beach -- where the attack occurred -- to Crystal Cove State Beach remains closed and will reopen Wednesday morning.
City lifeguards have continued to search the ocean for shark activity off the coast of Newport Beach by boat, while the Huntington Beach Police Department has been searching by air for the past two days. Searchers have not seen any shark activity after the incident, according to the City of Newport Beach.
Jacobsen said the attack was a rare occurrence and advises beachgoers to take precaution, use good judgment and not venture too far out into the ocean.
A shark attack was also reported in Florida over the Memorial Day weekend.
As the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission notes, Florida's diverse shark population does not "see humans as a food source. Experts believe that most shark attacks are cases of mistaken identity, which explains why nearly all shark attacks that occur in Florida waters are of a bite-and-release nature."
There were 59 shark attacks in the United States in 2015, 30 of them in Florida alone, according to a report by the International Shark Attack File. Only one attack in the U.S. was fatal.
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