An avid snorkeller, Justine Barwick was swimming near her family yacht during her annual holiday at Queensland's picturesque Whitsundays, a warm change from her Tasmanian home town of Burnie.
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Now she is fighting for life in a Mackay hospital, having been dragged from the water by her husband and other terrified tourists after a horrifying shark attack on Wednesday afternoon.
The 46-year-old suffered severe leg and torso injuries when she was mauled by a shark in Cid Harbour, off Whitsunday Island, as she swam with her husband and friends.
One of the first paramedics at the scene credited the quick actions of a doctor, Mackay Base Hospital emergency department doctor John Hadok, who was on a nearby vessel with saving her life.
RACQ CQ rescue crewman Ben McCauley said the shark had taken a "huge chunk" from the inside of Mrs Barwick's leg.
“She did suffer a lot of blood loss. There was quite a lot of blood around the boat,” he said.
“We were told there was arterial bleeding ... quite a big chunk of the leg taken, a few small puncture wounds on her calf muscle.”
Mrs Barwick was pulled from the water, transferred to a yacht and moved to a dinghy to be winched up by a rescue helicopter dispatched from the coastal town of Proserpine, about 50 kilometres south-west of the Whitsundays.
“The people on scene who got her aboard that yacht and quickly packed the gaping
wound to help stem the haemorrhaging undoubtedly saved her life," Mr McCauley said.
“She was very scared, cold and in shock - in and out of consciousness. She’s very lucky to be alive.”
She remained in a critical but stable condition in the Mackay hospital on Thursday.
Mrs Barwick is the operations manager with the Tasmanian community care organisation Family Based Care. “She is an avid snorkeller and enjoys these times away with family and friends," Family Based Care chief executive Douglass Doherty said.
“Justine is a fighter: a fit, resilient woman who is an outstanding leader in the aged and disability care sectors."
She arrived at the Mackay hospital about 8pm on Wednesday after the helicopter stopped at Proserpine to pick up blood and to refuel.
“Given how serious her injuries were and how far from shore and from medical help
they were, without the rescue helicopter I don’t think she would have made it back to
the mainland alive,” Mr McCauley said.
RACQ CQ Rescue pilot Kevin Berry said the rescue had been difficult because there were so many boats in the area.
Mr Berry said from his experience flying in the area, shark sightings from the air were rare, unlike whales and dolphins.
- with Luke Sayer
