Daughter says NYC shark bite victim has had 5 surgeries and has been left with permanent disability

NEW YORK — The 65-year-old girl who was bitten by a shark at a New York Metropolis seashore has undergone 5 surgical procedures for the reason that assault and would require extra, her daughter mentioned in an announcement.

Tatyana Koltunyuk’s restoration from the Aug. 7 shark chew may also take years of bodily remedy and shut medical monitoring, daughter Darya Koltunyuk mentioned.

“Although the total influence of her damage will not be but recognized, it has left her with a everlasting incapacity,” Darya Koltunyuk mentioned in an internet assertion posted on GoFundMe to lift cash for her mom’s medical care.

Tatyana Koltunyuk was swimming off Rockaway Seashore when a shark bit into her left leg, leaving a wound a number of inches large and deep. Lifeguards pulled Koltunyuk from the water and utilized a tourniquet to her leg. She was taken to a hospital in vital situation.

Darya Koltunyuk, a pianist and the outreach supervisor at Princeton College Concert events, mentioned her mom will stay hospitalized for at the least a number of extra weeks.

Tatyana Koltunyuk emigrated to the US from Ukraine along with her husband after which 3-year-old daughter within the Nineteen Nineties. Koltunyuk’s husband died of a coronary heart assault just a few weeks after the household arrived, their daughter mentioned.

Tatyana Koltunyuk labored tirelessly to assist her daughter on her personal and had hoped to get pleasure from her retirement, her daughter mentioned.

“She talked about swimming within the ocean daily, strolling across the metropolis with a brand new pet, and touring with us,” Darya Koltunyuk mentioned, referring to herself and her husband, Gregg Kallor, a composer and pianist.

“My husband and I’ll do all the pieces in our energy to make her retirement as comfy and fulfilling as we probably can, however the street forward shall be extraordinarily difficult for her and for our household,” Darya Koltunyuk mentioned.

Specialists mentioned Koltunyuk’s chew was probably the most severe shark attack in New York waters in many years.

Shark sightings and minor bites have grow to be extra frequent within the area lately because the predators are drawn nearer to shore by a rising inhabitants of the bait fish they feed on. Not less than 13 swimmers reported being bitten off the coast of Lengthy Island prior to now two summers, surpassing the whole of reported bites all through New York historical past previous to 2022. None of these accidents had been thought of severe.