Cid Harbour shark attack victim Justine Barwick returns to work

The victim of a serious shark attack in the Whitsundays has reached another major milestone in her recovery from the September ordeal, and admits she is “incredibly lucky to be alive”.

GUTSY Tasmanian shark attack victim Justine Barwick says she’s returning to a “new normal” after surviving her ocean ordeal with incredible support from the community.

The Burnie mum, who returned to full duties in her role as the operations manager at Family Based Care Tasmania this week, continues to receive regular physiotherapy and has been left with lifelong disabilities as a result of the shark bite sustained during a Whitsundays getaway.

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From an anonymous lawnmower to a multitude of cards sent to her hospital room and a church which opened its doors to provide counselling to locals shocked by the attack, Ms Barwick said she had been overwhelmed by the support shown to both her family and her workplace during her recovery.

“The story I see here is a story of communities, I don’t think it is a story about a shark bite”, Ms Barwick said in a statement this morning.

“I know that I am incredibly lucky to be alive.”

Justine Barwick, has left the Royal Brisbane to continue her treatment Royal Hobart Hospital. Picture: Supplied

Ms Barwick said she was looking forward to returning to “her new normal with family and friends in a supportive community”.

Ms Barwick’s right leg was mauled in a suspected tiger shark attack while she was swimming off a yacht in sheltered shores at Cid Harbour, north of Hamilton Island, with a friend about 5pm on September 19 last year.

Ms Barwick told local newspaper The Advocate she recalled feeling the shark slam into her.

Ms Barwick being flown to Brisbane after the attack on September 19 last year. Picture: AAPimage/David Clark

“I was really scared. I think it was a fight or flight moment because I just swam straight back to the boat and I got out of the water and my friend was still in the water,” she told the newspaper.

“That makes me a little bit sad that I knew that there was a shark in the water and my survival instinct was so strong that I got out first.”

Despite the circumstances, Ms Barwick was in good hands as two of the friends she was with knew first-aid and an emergency doctor happened to be holidaying nearby. The rescue chopper was also being refuelled in a town with a blood bank.

She underwent a lifesaving operation in Mackay Hospital that night before being flown to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital for a marathon 18-hour surgery to save her leg.

During the operation, specialists repaired ligaments and other structures including nerve, skin and muscle grafting to reconstruct the injured limb.

While Ms Barwick continues to carry a walking stick to support her leg, she said it was still “very functional”.

Ms Barwick was one of two people attacked by a shark near Cid Harbour within 24 hours.