A San Jose mother vacationing in the Galapagos Islands says she was attacked by a shark and is recovering in Ecuador, fighting to get back home.
Delia Yriarte, who’s also a nurse in the Bay Area, says she was with a tour group when the attack happened.
She says she was in shock the whole time, but is glad she’s alive and able to share her story.
“Five tendon repairs, over 100 sutures in my leg, I still have some loss of tissue that needs to be grafted and probably a few more surgeries,” said Yriarte.
It is the result of a terrifying encounter between her and a shark.
“I felt a little bit of a touch, not a pull not nothing like that and after that I felt my leg a little numb, then I kept pedaling and I felt that my leg wasn't responding,” she said.
Yriarte said she was returning to the shore from snorkeling near the tiny islet of Mosquera.
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“When I turned I noticed blood, and I said ‘I have an injury but I have no idea what kind,’” she said.
She called for help and luckily there were several others around her.
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“By the time I got to the shore I was already a little more tired, and I was anxious but then I realized my knee was torn from both sides,” said Yriarte.
It wasn’t until she arrived at a hospital that a doctor told her she’d been attacked by a shark and would have to endure a number of surgeries.
“I'm assuming that because it was so fast my brain didn’t have time to register the pain,” said Yriarte.
Family and friends, thousands of miles away, started a GoFundMe page to help Yriarte with medical and travel expenses as she tries to get back to her 15-year-old daughter in San Jose.
The single mother is coordinating with the U.S. consulate and Bay Area hospitals.
“I understand it's going to be a long process but I'm just lucky that I'm still alive,” said Yriarte.
She said the doctors have told her that she will be able to walk again. But it may take months before that happens.
As for the shark that bit her, she wasn’t sure, but was told it could have been a black tip or reef shark.
