NYC bite victim celebrates breakthrough two years after Rockaway shark attack

A Queens woman has taken a giant leap — with her foot — on her “miracle” road to recovery two years after a shark tore 20 pounds of flesh from her thigh at Rockaway Beach.

Tatyana Koltunyuk, of Astoria, became the victim of New York’s first maneater attack since the 1950s during her solo swim on Aug. 7, 2023 near Beach 59th Street. 

Following countless surgeries, physical therapy and aquatherapy, Koltynyuk, 67, reached a medical breakthrough last month when she was able to wiggle her foot, her daughter, Dasha (Darya) Koltunyuk, said in an update post to a GoFundMe page. 

“This morning, I woke up to a text from my mom – and in it, she waved good morning to me…with her foot,” Dasha wrote on July 9. Doctors feared she may never be able to move her foot due to nerve damage caused by the shark.

“We are stunned, overjoyed, and still trying to wrap our minds around this miracle: against all medical odds, and with no sensation yet returned, her extraordinary spirit has somehow found a way to connect to the damaged nerve and produce the tiniest, most powerful foot wiggle – a gesture we can only describe as the potential beginning of a new chapter we had only dared to hope for,” she continued. 

The daughter credited the 1,200 people who have donated to the online fundraiser over the last two years, raising nearly $122,000 of its $135,000 goal, for providing “access to creative and tenacious physical therapists, daily gym workouts and pool therapy, specialized equipment, reliable transportation, [and] home attendants.”

“This moment – this breathtaking glimmer of possibility – would not have been possible without you,” she wrote. “This victory belongs to all of us.” 

The former marine engineer, who is originally from Ukraine, has consistently embodied indomitable spirit since the life-altering attack, which was experts believe was caused by a bull, thresher or great white shark. 

On her birthday this year, the survivor spent the morning in physical therapy – “pushing through pain and defying expectations” – before moving on to a workout class, which was followed by an hour and a half of swimming, Dasha wrote in an April 5 post on the GoFundMe page. 

“This is not just recovery. This is transformation. This is someone turning every challenge into art, pain into poetry, and limitations into motion. And she’s doing it all with courage, humor, and heart,” Dasha said of her mother. 

But it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, as the family struggled to pay a whopping $1,300 per month, out of pocket, after Medicare stopped covering some of Koltunyuk’s therapy appointments, Dasha noted last year.

Koltunyuk and Dasha did not respond to requests for comment.