Lethal Waters: Great Barrier Reef Attack

Justine Barwick loves the Whitsundays. The picturesque Australian islands have been the scene of many a family holiday. But one day - swimming in waters she’s safely explored hundreds of times before - things take a sudden and shocking turn. Out of nowhere, Justine faces a monstrous attack. With major trauma to a main artery, the life is literally draining from her. The countdown has started… A Noiser production, written by Anne-Marie Bullock. For ad-free listening, bonus material and early access to new episodes, join Noiser+. Click the Noiser+ banner to get started. Or, if you’re on Spotify or Android, go to noiser.com/subscriptions If you have an amazing survival story of your own that you’d like to put forward for the show, let us know. Drop us an email at [email protected] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:01Speaker 00

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• 1:01John Hopkins?

  It's September the 19th, 2018. Light is fading across the Witsundais. A collection of green and gold islands dotted around the Coral Sea, just off the coast of Queensland, Australia. By day, this diving paradise is teeming with swimmers, exploring the warm turquoise waters. People leap from boats to revel in the scattered, multicolored reefs hidden below, while others stroll along the plentiful, white sandy beaches.

• 1:33John Hopkins?

  But with the light fading, the sea is now emptier. Holidaymakers have retreated to the shore, to the mainland, or back to their boats.

• 1:43John Hopkins?

  A normally lively, convivial atmosphere has subtly altered into something more eerie as the darkening waves slosh up and down.

• 1:56John Hopkins?

  On the western side of Whitsunday Island, the largest in the area, there is an inlet known as Sid Harbour. Here, a smattering of small vessels bob peacefully on the water.

• 2:10John Hopkins?

  And then, through the gloom, a horrifying scream rings out across the harbour.

• 2:20John Hopkins?

  Onboard a 39-foot sailing yacht, 47-year-old Justine Barwick is in trouble. The floor of the boat is slick with a frothing combination of saltwater and blood.

• 2:33John Hopkins?

  Trembling, trying to catch her breath, Justine looks down at her leg.

• 2:38Speaker 03

  I saw the spits of blood from where my femoral artery was. And it wasn't just severed, it was it was gone from my groin to my knee. My thigh was just gone.

• 2:52John Hopkins?

  Her family and friends crowd around her, trying their best to keep her calm. They pack the wound with towels and bandages. It's clear the trauma is severe. What's more, any rescue from this secluded spot will be immensely complex and risky. It seems Justine may only have minutes left.

• 3:14Speaker 03

  It was a very distinct feeling that I knew that I was very probably going to die.

• 3:29John Hopkins?

  Ever wondered what you would do when disaster strikes? If your life depended on your next decision, could you make the right choice?

• 3:38John Hopkins?

  Welcome to Real Survival Stories. These are the astonishing tales of ordinary people thrown into extraordinary situations. People suddenly forced to fight for their lives.

• 3:52John Hopkins?

  In this episode, we meet Justine Barwick, a 47-year-old care worker. Justine loves the Queensland coast and takes regular trips here to relax with her friends and family.

• 4:04John Hopkins?

  But one day, swimming in waters she's safely explored hundreds of times before, things take a sudden and shocking turn.

• 4:14John Hopkins?

  Out of nowhere, Justine faces a monstrous attack, a fight in the waves, and a life-threatening injury.

• 4:23Speaker 03

  I was acutely aware right from the moment I got out of the water that I was in massive trouble.

• 4:30John Hopkins?

  With major trauma to one of the largest arteries in her body, life is literally draining from her. The countdown has started.

• 4:40Speaker 03

  I just had to stay calm to try and just keep my heart rate from rising because if my heart rate rose, that I was going to bleed out faster.

• 4:50John Hopkins?

  I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Podcast Network. This is Real Survival Stories.

• 5:24John Hopkins?

  It's September the 19th, 2018. Boats and swimmers are scattered across the bright blue waters of the Witsundays, the cluster of 74 islands off Australia's northeast coast, at the heart of the Great Barrier Reef.

• 5:41John Hopkins?

  Colorful fish, graceful stingrays, and serene sea turtles glide through the coral.

• 5:49John Hopkins?

  Many of the surrounding islands are uninhabited, with untouched rainforest running down the rugged mountains to the clear waters below. It's a place of stunning natural beauty.

• 6:01John Hopkins?

  On the edge of the Witsundays' largest island is the popular Whitehaven Beach, its pristine sands dotted with sunbathers.

• 6:11John Hopkins?

  Just beyond, among the assorted collection of boats undulating in the sea, is the 39-foot sailing yacht, the Topaz.

• 6:21John Hopkins?

  Onboard, Justine Barwick sits on deck, drinking it all in.

• 6:27Speaker 03

  I've been a bit of an accidental sailor because my husband's a sailor and my best friend's a sailor. So I guess by default, that makes me a sailor. I do like to go sailing when the weather's fine, where the conditions are predictable and calm. That's where I'm most happy, but it's a great way to experience nature and experience the world and to see parts of, for me, Australia in ways that otherwise you wouldn't get to see them.

• 6:57John Hopkins?

  They are 10 days into a three-week holiday. Craig, her husband of 25 years, is checking the weather forecast for the days ahead.

• 7:08John Hopkins?

  From the cool waters below, Justine's best friend Lynne shouts up and laughs as she swims. Lynne's daughter, Michelle, is on deck, reading alongside her husband Ben. They're enjoying the last of the sponge cake that Justine baked earlier.

• 7:25John Hopkins?

  All in all, it's a fine day to be alive.

• 7:31John Hopkins?

  Lynne climbs back onto the boat, shaking the sea from her hair and grabbing a towel before sharing a joke with Justine.

• 7:40John Hopkins?

  The pair have been firm friends ever since Justine moved to the port city of Burnie in Tasmania 25 years ago.

• 7:48Speaker 03

  We just clicked immediately and we've been besties ever since. She's a pretty special individual and we've certainly been through so much together. We're each other's really safe place and we're just so supportive of each other. But also, we tell each other how it is as well. There's nothing that goes unsaid between the two of us. In 2006, we were, actually, we were nuns in a musical. And during one of the costume changes, Lyn, as she took off her nun's habit, she was like, oh, I've got a lump in my breast. And I said, oh, no, you don't. No, you don't. Don't be silly.

• 8:32Speaker 03

  But sure enough, she did, in fact, have a lump in her breast and ended up needing to have a full mastectomy and chemotherapy and radiation therapy and other follow-up therapies. And that was the toughest time of my life, supporting my best friend through that journey. But when you do go through so much together, those bonds are forged. They're hard bonds. They are unbreakable bonds.

• 8:59John Hopkins?

  Lyn's daughter, Michelle, was only a teenager at the time of the diagnosis. So Justine took on the role of a second mother, a guide through choppy waters.

• 9:10John Hopkins?

  And today, the two families remain close, sharing regular cook-ins back home and trips away together. The Whitsundays are a favourite spot.

• 9:27John Hopkins?

  They've been sailing this area over the last five years and know the waters well. Today has been another idyllic day with little more than the odd gust of wind breaking up the warmth.

• 9:39John Hopkins?

  But Craig has just heard that a weather front is due to come in. Nothing too surprising in these tropical climes, though not something to ignore either.

• 9:50John Hopkins?

  The group agrees to sail around the coast to the more sheltered anchorage of Sid Harbour on the west side of the island. Here, they can hunker down, read books, play games and watch movies until the weather passes.

• 10:05John Hopkins?

  Craig takes the helm and starts the journey around the island.

• 10:11John Hopkins?

  He and Justine enjoy a good life. They've been together for a quarter of a century and have raised two daughters.

• 10:20Speaker 03

  Craig taught the girls to sail at the local yacht club and we just had a lovely, lovely time raising our family in Burnie. He's an incredible guy. He's a very logical, rational guy. He's not prone to, you know, outbursts of emotion or anger or anything like that. He's really calm. He's funny and he's a very practical guy as well. If you need a bookshelf built, he's your guy. If you need your car serviced, he'll get into that for you.

• 10:55John Hopkins?

  It's late afternoon as Craig sails the group into Sid Harbour. A curved mouth of water, semi-encircled by beaches and lush green.

• 11:06John Hopkins?

  It never fails to take the breath away.

• 11:10Speaker 03

  It's absolutely gorgeous. You can sit on the deck of your boat and you can listen to the birds that are in the trees at Sid Harbour. The bird song sort of floats across the water. You get a great outlook over the islands. It's sheltered, it's quiet, even if there are, you know, quite a few boats there. Being a sheltered anchorage, it's quite popular, but it's just really lovely.

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• 12:24John Hopkins?

  These three weeks are a welcome break for Justine, a time to decompress.

• 12:31John Hopkins?

  Back home, she works in community support for elderly and disabled people. A rewarding but challenging role. She fell into the career by chance. As a tearaway teenager, she struggled in class, skipped school, and then left completely at the age of 15.

• 12:50John Hopkins?

  Justine's mother grew more and more frustrated with her sneaking out of the house and getting into trouble. Until one day, she spotted a job vacancy, a role that would give something back to the community, and demanded her daughter apply.

• 13:06Speaker 03

  When your mum adopts that particular tone that all of us know from our mums that when they say you need to apply, I could tell that there was no point discussing it. I just needed to do it. And I was actually really horrified when I got the job because then I thought, oh gosh, I've got to follow through with this now. By lunchtime on the first day, it just, it had me. The people and the opportunity to make a difference in people's lives, whether it's living with a disability in their own home or whether it's aging successfully in their own home. What's something very little to us can have a really big impact in somebody's day or their life or their experience of being able to stay at home.

• 13:49Speaker 03

  I quickly learned that I worked really well with people and getting people to understand change, assisting them to navigate through change, seeing why change is a necessary thing, and it's often a good thing.

• 14:07John Hopkins?

  These days, Justine's in management with 150 people reporting to her.

• 14:14John Hopkins?

  With the pressure of the job, downtime like this, cruising around the glorious Coral Sea, becomes crucial.

• 14:27John Hopkins?

  The group drops anchor around 4:45pm. A good number of crews have had a similar idea. Around 60 boats are here already, sheltering in the cove. For now, the weather remains calm.

• 14:42John Hopkins?

  Craig heads below deck with Ben to chill some drinks for sundown. Michelle and Lyn are drying off after their latest dip.

• 14:52John Hopkins?

  As the afternoon morphs into evening, Justine decides to go for one last swim herself.

• 14:59John Hopkins?

  She stands with her toes curled over the edge of the boat and breathes in deeply, taking in the sprawling sea, the verdant islets, the enormous sky.

• 15:11John Hopkins?

  She kicks off from the boat and dives, plunging deep into the blue.

• 15:18John Hopkins?

  The water is cool and refreshing. Bubbles flurry past her face, and for a few moments, everything is tranquil.

• 15:27John Hopkins?

  Justine turns and kicks up towards the surface.

• 15:32John Hopkins?

  She rises, eyes closed, totally unaware of what's around her. And that's when, from below, a juggernaut strikes.

• 15:43Speaker 03

  The water was beautiful and refreshing, but then as my head resurfaced on my way back up from my dive, that's when the shark hit my leg and bit into my leg.

• 15:56John Hopkins?

  Justine is flung around in the water as the powerful creature clamps down with vise-like jaws, its razor-sharp fangs serrating her leg.

• 16:06John Hopkins?

  This aggressive apex predator is a tiger shark.

• 16:12Speaker 03

  I don't have the words to describe that force, and I don't remember saying it, but apparently I said, "Get it off me, get it off me."

• 16:30John Hopkins?

  Tiger sharks can grow up to eighteen feet long. Alongside bulls and great whites, tigers are statistically one of the most dangerous species of shark, one of the most likely to bite. They can and do eat almost anything, and have even been known to attack boats.

• 16:50John Hopkins?

  That said, what's happening to Justine is totally unexpected. While there are some sightings of sharks in parts of the Woodson Days, there's never before been a recorded attack in Sid Harbour.

• 17:05John Hopkins?

  As the tiger clamps down on her thigh, Justine starts to fight back, crying out for help and attempting to force herself away from its immense grip.

• 17:16John Hopkins?

  The water around her starts to turn crimson.

• 17:20John Hopkins?

  In the frenzy, it's a blur, but somehow, mercifully, Justine manages to release herself from its mouth. The pressure on her leg lessens, and she is free.

• 17:34Speaker 03

  I thought it was just a really smooth push. I just encouraged this tiger shark off my leg, but it wasn't that easy. And I turned and swam to the boat, and I remember being just so stunned that I was so close to the stern of the boat because I would never dive in as close to the stern of the boat as what I was. I was literally only two or three swim strokes away from the stern of the boat, so that confused me. But I think that push and that force with which the shark hit me, I think it pushed me closer to the stern of the boat. And when I pushed the shark away, I think I didn't in fact push the shark away. I probably pushed myself back off the shark.

• 18:24John Hopkins?

  Craig and Ben hear her shouts and race to the back of the boat. They see her beneath them, flailing in an expanding pool of red.

• 18:33John Hopkins?

  She has to get out of the water immediately.

• 18:36John Hopkins?

  Thrashing her arms and kicking with her uninjured left leg, Justine manages to battle her way to the swim ladder. She grasps it with both hands, but is unable to climb up.

• 18:48John Hopkins?

  She dangles in the water, her lower half perilously exposed.

• 18:53John Hopkins?

  Craig and Ben reach down and haul her onto the boat, placing her on the floor of the yacht's enclosed cockpit.

• 19:01John Hopkins?

  She's out of the water, away from the shark.

• 19:05John Hopkins?

  But the relief is short-lived.

• 19:08John Hopkins?

  Glancing down, Justine sees for the first time the full damage to her right leg.

• 19:14Speaker 03

  At that point, I knew I was bitten by the shark because it couldn't have been anything else. I remember looking down and it was just the inside of my thigh, all of the back, all of the front was just gone. It was just not there, and I could see bone. And I thought, this was really serious.

• 19:36Speaker 03

  And then I saw the spits of blood from where my femoral artery was. And it wasn't just severed, it was, it was gone from my groin to my knee. My thigh was just gone. It's not an image that I will ever forget.

• 19:53John Hopkins?

  The femoral artery is the main supply of blood to the lower body. Damage to it often means a death sentence, as blood loss is so rapid. Justine could die in less than five minutes.

• 20:06John Hopkins?

  They're in an isolated spot, three miles from the mainland. By all metrics, the situation is incredibly bleak.

• 20:14Speaker 03

  I was acutely aware, right from the moment I got out of the water, that I was in massive trouble.

• 20:21John Hopkins?

  Everyone jumps into action. Immediately Craig applies pressure to her leg, grabbing a nearby towel and smothering the wound. Ben seizes other towels, which Craig twists around to secure the first. Lyn leaps across Justine to reach the first aid kit, zipping it open as she runs back. As a volunteer paramedic, she's well placed to give emergency help. She tears open the bandages and starts winding them tightly around the makeshift dressing. It's better than nothing. But for a wound this severe, it can only stem the flow for so long.

• 21:00Speaker 03

  Craig, my leg's elevated, so he literally, he could not go anywhere. So it was Lyn who was running around getting bandages and coming to my head and talking to me. Probably every 30 seconds or every minute that she would be coming to me and talking to me and, you know, making sure that she could get a response from me.

• 21:21John Hopkins?

  Michelle has grabbed the marine radio, making the mayday call to alert other boats nearby. It was, in fact, Justine and Craig who trained her how to use the radio when she was younger. Skills which could now mean the difference between life and death.

• 21:42John Hopkins?

  Ben climbs into the cabin and calls 100 for the emergency services, giving as much detail as possible.

• 21:50John Hopkins?

  It's all action around Justine as she lies there, doing all she can to remain level-headed.

• 21:58Speaker 03

  I'd seen the hole in my leg and I knew that I couldn't do anything aside from stay calm. That panicking wasn't an option for me at that time, that I just literally had to stay calm to try and just keep my heart rate from rising. Because I knew from my first aid courses back in the day that if my heart rate rose, that I was going to bleed out faster.

• 22:23John Hopkins?

  She draws on whatever inner resources she can, even using methods she's learned in yoga over the last decade. Concentrating on filling her belly deeply with breath and releasing it slowly to the count of five.

• 22:39John Hopkins?

  But it can only do so much.

• 22:42Speaker 03

  It was a very distinct feeling that I knew that I was very probably going to die. There was no panic that came with that for me. There was a sadness, but there was also an acceptance of it as well. I had some really rational thoughts. I started to think, well, we have a wheel, so tick, that'll be fine. You know, at the time Craig was only 52. And I thought, okay, he's young enough to find somebody else and be happy again. That's okay. The girls were in their early twenties. And I thought, well, yep, I've raised two really, really top chicks, amazing young women, and they'll be sad, but they'll have great memories. So they'll be okay because I know they're strong.

• 23:31John Hopkins?

  Lyn moves closer and kneels by Justine's side. The two friends lock eyes as the darkness grows and the colour seeps from Justine's face.

• 23:46Speaker 03

  And I started to say to Lyn, I think I'm going to die. And she was very firm with me and she told me I wasn't allowed to die. And her words were actually, not on my watch you're not. So I clearly wasn't even allowed to die.

• 24:05John Hopkins?

  With her best friend and her husband close by, Justine clings on.

• 24:11John Hopkins?

  Meanwhile, crews from other boats floating nearby in the harbour have heard the mayday call and are moving in.

• 24:19John Hopkins?

  Soon, a mini armada arrives, vessels of all shapes and sizes, haring towards the topaz to offer additional supplies and aid.

• 24:28Speaker 03

  We were very prepared sailors, but nobody's prepared for that. So some boats came in their tenders, in their little dinghies, and bought bandages. And I remember, bandage after bandage would come.

• 24:45John Hopkins?

  About a kilometre away, anchored in a separate part of the Witsundee Islands, a silver-haired, bearded man stands on the edge of his yacht.

• 24:55John Hopkins?

  This is Dr John Haddock. He's considering a final swim of the day. One last opportunity to cool off before getting ready for dinner.

• 25:07John Hopkins?

  He looks down into the swaying, serene waters and goes to jump.

• 25:13John Hopkins?

  When a small, motorised dinghy suddenly appears with two sailors on board. They shout and wave their arms. They hurry to explain the situation to the doctor. A woman has been attacked by a shark. She's in desperate need of help.

• 25:30John Hopkins?

  They couldn't have come across a better person in the circumstances.

• 25:35John Hopkins?

  Instantly, John steps across into the dinghy and is carried back towards the tow pass.

• 25:43John Hopkins?

  When John arrives at the yacht and clambers on board, he quickly takes in the scene.

• 25:50John Hopkins?

  The floor of the cockpit is slippery with blood. Justine is pale and only semi-conscious. It's now been forty-five minutes since the attack. Her fingers and toes are mottled and drained of blood. The fact that she is still alive is already a monumental feat.

• 26:10John Hopkins?

  John asks everyone to move aside.

• 26:13Speaker 03

  And then I remember him leaning down to me and introducing himself and saying, "My name's John, I'm an ED doctor." And I felt him sort of poking around in my neck and I couldn't work out what he was doing. But I now know that he was looking for a pulse. My blood pressure was so low that I didn't have one.

• 26:33John Hopkins?

  He assures her that he will do all he can to help. But the doctor doesn't mince his words.

• 26:40Speaker 03

  I asked him if I was going to die. And I remember his answer as clearly as if it was yesterday. He said to me, "You're very badly injured and you are very unwell. And it is possible that you may die. But the first aid is excellent and I couldn't have done better myself. So I think you've got a chance of survival. So we need to make a plan to get you out of here." And it sounds very strange to say, but those words were very comforting because they validated those feelings that I had that I may die and those statements that he made that I had a chance of survival. So that's what I chose to hang on to.

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• 29:21John Hopkins?

  As John tends to Justine and checks her vital signs, there is a sudden crackle on the marine radio, and a message comes through.

• 29:31John Hopkins?

  A rescue helicopter is on its way.

• 29:35John Hopkins?

  An enormous relief. But this good news comes with caveats. The rescue promises to be highly complex.

• 29:47Speaker 03

  The next step will be to get me into that helicopter, but then it just took ages. And so it became apparent to me lying on the deck that it was more complicated than I knew.

• 30:01John Hopkins?

  Craig and John communicate with the rescue team over the radio, trying to hatch a plan. There is a beach nearby, but the incoming tide means the emergency crew cannot land there.

• 30:13John Hopkins?

  The helicopter could fly overhead and lower crew members down onto the boat. But the various masts, ropes, and wires of the yachts make this maneuver too intricate, and the likelihood is the aircraft's winch will become dangerously entangled.

• 30:31John Hopkins?

  There's only one option, and it isn't a welcome one.

• 30:37John Hopkins?

  Justine will need to be lowered into an inflatable dinghy and taken out into open water. From there, the helicopter should be able to reach her. But moving Justine in her state is easier said than done. They'll need to place her into a smaller, vulnerable vessel with night descending and who knows what still lurking in the depths.

• 31:06John Hopkins?

  It's been more than an hour since the tiger shark attacked. It's impossible to know exactly how much blood Justine has lost, or how much longer she has left.

• 31:16John Hopkins?

  And now comes the most complex stage of her survival.

• 31:22John Hopkins?

  The rescue helicopter is speeding her way. Onboard are a pilot, a flight paramedic and a crew officer.

• 31:30John Hopkins?

  Fortunately, they weren't far from the Topaz when they got the call, carrying out a routine task nearby. But this means they're already low on fuel. There's no time to lose. Justine has to get to the open ocean.

• 31:46Speaker 03

  With the mast and the boom and the spreaders and everything that's on a yacht, the helicopter can't get near that, it's not safe. Due to the conditions, the helicopter couldn't land on the beach. So that wasn't an option. So the option that they landed on was that I was transferred to the dinghy.

• 32:07John Hopkins?

  The bright yellow dinghy is attached to the stern of the yacht, normally reserved for leisure trips to the shore.

• 32:16John Hopkins?

  It's all hands to the pump as team Justine gets to work. Quickly, the seats are removed from the dinghy to make more space. At the same time, Lyn pulls over one of the cockpit's long seat cushions to use as a makeshift stretcher. They need to keep Justine flat when they move her.

• 32:34John Hopkins?

  Lyn holds her friend's head steady and instructs the group to surround her, spreading the weight between them. She tells Justine to just keep breathing.

• 32:45John Hopkins?

  Craig continues to keep his wife's legs elevated. And on a count of three, they all transfer her in one move across to the stretcher, then raise her up and over the stern, easing her down onto the tender.

• 33:00Speaker 03

  Some bystanders actually helped John, Craig, Ben, Michelle and Lyn lift me into the dinghy because that had to be obviously done very carefully as to not move that huge dressing that was effectively stemming the blood flow.

• 33:25John Hopkins?

  As the surface of the sea heaves, Lyn holds her breath as they stow Justine in the dinghy.

• 33:32John Hopkins?

  It's agreed only Craig and John will journey out with her. Tears start to well as Lyn lets her friend go. There is nothing more she can do.

• 33:45John Hopkins?

  The sun is disappearing beyond the horizon as Craig takes to the helm and chugs the dinghy away from the yacht. John keeps monitoring Justine as Craig weaves between the other boats towards clear, open water. In the distance, the sound of rapid rotor blades begins to reverberate across the waves.

• 34:06John Hopkins?

  Closer and closer the two crafts move. Through the intense downdraft of the chopper, Craig guides the little dinghy with focus and skill.

• 34:16Speaker 03

  For Craig to be positioning a tiny dinghy underneath the downforce of that helicopter was just incredible presence of mind, given the situation, and just great boatsmanship skills as well. I remember the force of the helicopter and I remember it was like being in a storm.

• 34:38John Hopkins?

  Now, directly beneath the helicopter, the inflatable vessel is buffeted like a feather in a hurricane.

• 34:46John Hopkins?

  Spray and salt water crash onto the dinghy.

• 34:52Speaker 03

  John was reminding me to breathe because that was actually quite tough to remember to breathe. And so every time I had to breathe out, I'd have to blow the sea water out because waves would have got into my mouth when I was breathing.

• 35:08John Hopkins?

  The helicopter is struggling to get close enough. Each time it moves near, the waves churn harder, forcing the dinghy further away. The pilot pulls back again, but the fuel is running lower and lower.

• 35:26John Hopkins?

  The crew have a big call to make. To get to Justine, somebody will have to brave the waters.

• 35:34John Hopkins?

  One of the rescue workers, named Ben, steps up.

• 35:38Speaker 03

  Ben from that rescue helicopter had to make a decision. Basically, it's now or never and this is as good as it's going to get. And so he then dropped into the water where I'd, you know, a couple of hours ago been bitten by a shark, which is just incredible bravery.

• 35:55John Hopkins?

  Ben bullets into the water.

• 35:59John Hopkins?

  With a gasp, he resurfaces, getting his bearings and swimming towards the dinghy.

• 36:05John Hopkins?

  He reaches the craft and bundles himself on board, rescue harness at the ready.

• 36:11John Hopkins?

  Instantly, he begins work to winch Justine up to the helicopter.

• 36:16Speaker 03

  Because the helicopter, in fact, had been diverted from another mission, they hadn't, in fact, been tasked for a shark attack at all. They didn't have the appropriate harness that I should have gone up in, like to keep me horizontal with that femoral artery sever. And I remember John being very concerned about that. They got me into a harness and I was strapped to Ben, but unfortunately, my legs were dangling down and John was very concerned that I might not have made the winch up into the helicopter.

• 36:52John Hopkins?

  Justine beckons Craig to come close, whispering something to her husband. Neither knows if they'll be the last words they speak to each other.

• 37:03John Hopkins?

  Then the winch pulls taut and she's raised with Ben towards the dazzling lights above.

• 37:13Speaker 03

  I remember arriving in the helicopter and the paramedic making his assessment of the situation. But things do start to get quite tough for me at that point, just through lack of blood. My blood pressure was unrecordable. So I was, I was in a world of pain then and that's actually my first memory of actual pain.

• 37:35John Hopkins?

  It has taken 45 minutes to complete the retrieval and it's been two hours since the attack.

• 37:43John Hopkins?

  Justine has lost pints of blood. It needs to be replenished immediately, but they don't have enough fuel to reach the closest hospital.

• 37:53John Hopkins?

  So the crew radio ahead for blood to be delivered to the nearest refuelling station. They just have to hope that will buy her enough time.

• 38:08John Hopkins?

  What happens next is foggy, a dreamlike flash of different pictures and sensations. After refuelling, Justine is airlifted again to Mackay Base Hospital, which has a large resuscitation team awaiting her.

• 38:24John Hopkins?

  Her chances of survival, I put at just 20%.

• 38:29Speaker 03

  I was taken to surgery where they did some, an operation called fasciotomies, which is basically where they released toxic blood that would have been trapped in the lower part of my limb. So that once they repaired my femoral artery, that that wasn't returned to my body because that would do damage and make me unwell or kill me.

• 38:52John Hopkins?

  It takes hours of painstaking, intricate work from surgeons. Throughout, Justine is teetering right on the edge.

• 39:01Speaker 03

  I've got a large scar where they took a large piece of vein from my left leg that they used to give me a new femoral artery on my right leg. The size of the bite, it's enormous. It's from just below my groin to just above my knee. And then they basically stabilised me, they put me into ICU. They kept me asleep this whole time. And I think it was around 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning that Craig and Leon and Michelle and Ben were allowed to see me in ICU.

• 39:40John Hopkins?

  After the initial life-saving operation, she is transported again to the Royal Brisbane Hospital for 18 more hours of reconstructive surgery.

• 39:51John Hopkins?

  To save her leg, nerve grafts are carried out. Muscle and skin are taken from her belly and used to recreate the area of her thigh that was bitten away.

• 40:02John Hopkins?

  Justine is kept unconscious for several days.

• 40:09Speaker 03

  I see you as a really confronting place and it's certainly a really scary environment. And then they started to raise my level of awareness and that was quite a difficult process of waking up. I wasn't strong enough to breathe for myself, so I was still intubated, which meant that I couldn't talk at all. So I couldn't tell anybody that I was scared or that I was worried about anything. And that, I have to say, was probably the scariest part of the whole episode, is being so isolated, being intubated, being scared. It was really great to see my family. Even if I couldn't talk to them,

• 40:53Speaker 03

  it just made me feel much safer.

• 40:58John Hopkins?

  After several days of recuperation, Justine is keen to get out of bed.

• 41:03John Hopkins?

  The medics don't want to rush things, but eventually they relent.

• 41:09Speaker 03

  It was that day that I knew how much rehab I'd have in my future because certainly my leg, yes, it was reconstructed, but it was weak and the muscles needed to be trained to allow me to walk. I can't feel my right leg, so the physios needed to teach me how to walk on this leg that I can't feel. And also the nerve damage from the attack means I have a dropped foot, so I can't lift up to swing that right leg through. So I've had to learn to walk with an aid to lift up that foot. So there is so much to everything that we do in everyday life that when you've got to rebuild, it's actually a really tough thing to do. And rehab continues.

• 41:53Speaker 03

  Tomorrow I've got a session. I had one on Monday. I've got another one on Friday. It's my life now. But that is also my key to walking and it's my key to enjoying life. Is it fair? No. But is life also good? Yes. I like to think of it as just, it's my normal now.

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• 43:07John Hopkins?

  Previously, Sid Harbor had been free of any known shark attacks. And as a result, there were no warning signs in place. But within just 24 hours of Justine's ordeal, emergency crews are called following a second shark attack in the vicinity. This time, on a 12-year-old girl. She thankfully survives, but requires an amputation. Less than two months after that, another attack claims the life of a 32-year-old doctor from Melbourne. The spate of incidents leads to calls for interventions. Baited drum lines are laid, which catch and kill six sharks.

• 43:50John Hopkins?

  But these are controversial and not seen as a long-term solution. Signs are installed, warning people not to swim in the area. A research project is carried out, and education programs are run on shark safety. Today, a tourist website advertising Sid Harbor states, "There is no swimming here at any time."

• 44:16John Hopkins?

  As for Justine.

• 44:18Speaker 03

  I don't think it's possible to come through this without an element of PTSD. I see a great psychologist a few times a year. I think the work that we have done together is a big part of me being the best human that I can be.

• 44:37Speaker 03

  And accepting my life as a person living with disability and accepting the traumatic experience. I really, I have no anger about this. And occasionally I could be like, oh, it's not fair, but that's not anger. You know, I have no anger about the shark being in the water. It was just unlucky and I was unlucky.

• 45:01John Hopkins?

  A year after the incident, she returns to the Woodson days to meet the team that rescued her.

• 45:08Speaker 03

  I started to wonder if I could ever go sailing again. I also was asking questions about what happened on the day. And I just really wanted to help my brain to understand exactly what had happened. I had questions for the paramedic from the helicopter. I had questions for the helicopter pilot. I had questions for the crewman. I had questions for John. And Craig said, well, let's go, let's just, let's go and just meet them. And John and his beautiful wife, Janice said, yeah, stay with us. Yeah, come and stay at our place. So we went and we had a few days sailing. So, yeah, I think healing was behind the trip. And yeah, giving my brain some, some more pieces of the puzzle.

• 45:59John Hopkins?

  Justine speaks highly of all the rescuers, doctors and strangers who helped her that day.

• 46:05John Hopkins?

  But she also praises her own crew, the friends and family that saved her and continue to support her today.

• 46:13Speaker 03

  People only see the inspiring side of trauma, but there's a gnarly, gritty, horrible side of it as well. And both of those sides are necessary. So to have a crew around you who accept that gnarly side as well, that's been really gold. The biggest thing that I have learnt is that I underestimated myself my whole life. For some reason, I had to wait until I had a shark hanging off my inner thigh before I knew that I was actually strong. And so I've learnt that I'm capable of a lot more than what I gave myself credit for. On one of the anniversaries of the shark attack, I was having a meeting with somebody.

• 46:55Speaker 03

  She said, "I bet you wish that you could go back and not dive in the water that day." So I said, "No, I actually don't because I never want to be the girl who doesn't dive in the water. I never want to be the girl who is too scared to do anything." You know, because the chances of me on that day, in that location, in those conditions, being bitten by a shark were absolutely minuscule. And if we let fear paralyze us, you know, then what does life look like? If a medical professional looked at it on paper, they would say this person should not have survived. So yeah, I like to think mine is a story of gratitude and determination.

• 47:47John Hopkins?

  Next time on Real Survival Stories, we meet British caver Dick Willis. In 1977, he joined an expedition to the deepest known cave in the world. But while Dick and his friends Andy and Paul are thousands of feet underground, an electrical storm breaks out above, sending torrents of water cascading into the caves. As the water level rises, the race to escape is on.

• 48:21John Hopkins?

  That's next time on Real Survival Stories.

• 48:25John Hopkins?

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• 48:32Speaker 00

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