A ‘mind-blowing’ swim for survival and sophisticated stomach reconstruction saved Sam after Thursday Island shark assault

The very last thing Sam Nai remembers earlier than the shark attacked is consuming a mango in a dinghy.

Warning: This story incorporates graphic particulars that some readers could discover confronting.

As he typically did, he spent a Saturday afternoon in October final yr at Quarantine Wharf, on Thursday Island within the Torres Strait, fishing and swimming with two buddies.

When they jumped into the ocean, a shark bit into his stomach, exposing his organs and leaving him preventing for his life.

After greater than 5 months on the Townsville University Hospital the place he underwent a fancy stomach reconstruction, Sam, now 15, is lastly residence.

His survival has been described as extraordinary, and it’s believed Sam’s case often is the most intensive shark chunk harm ever survived by a affected person documented in medical literature.

An island emergency

On October 11, 2025, Shanna Mosby was at residence when a neighbour ran to inform her that her son was in bother.

She drove to the wharf, calling household and an ambulance for assist.

“When I arrived I just screamed out to Sam. I screamed his name,” she stated.

The shark had taken a big part of his flank.

She took a shirt from her nephew and used it to wrap up Sam in a bid to carry in his organs.

Despite the extent of the wound, Ms Mosby stated there was little blood.

“He was squeezing my hands and he was saying he’s in pain, and I’m like, ‘Pain is a good thing, bubba. Pain is a good thing,'” she stated.

As close by residents got here to assist, they took the floorboard out of a dinghy to make a stretcher.

Within quarter-hour, Sam was in an ambulance. He was placed on a helicopter to Horn Island after which a aircraft to Townsville.

As Ms Mosby watched the in-flight docs and nurses deal with her son, she counted the baggage of blood he acquired — a complete of six — and considered how he would survive.

“Never once did it cross my mind that I would lose my son. It was just recovery and [how] things are going to be different,” she stated.

“Different is OK. Different is not good. Different is not bad. Just different. I can do different.”

Survival by a millimetre

Paediatric surgeon Brendan O’Connor led Sam’s therapy from the evening of the assault.

When {the teenager} arrived on the Townsville University Hospital, Dr O’Connor stated docs feared he had misplaced a kidney and will have suffered important organ injury.

“He had very extensive tissue loss. Loss of skin, fat, muscle from the left side of his body basically,” Dr O’Connor stated.

A CT scan confirmed that the shark’s enamel had left his organs unscathed, a “huge relief” for Ms Mosby and a “pleasant surprise” for the medical crew.

“A millimetre further and the bowel would have been injured as well, which would have been a much more significant problem for Sam,” Dr O’Connor stated.

The chunk had nonetheless grazed his hip bone.

The first step was emergency surgical procedure to scrub the large wound and shut his peritoneum — the stomach lining.

“Amazingly, he didn’t get any infection,” Dr O’Connor stated.

A painstaking reconstruction

For the subsequent few weeks whereas within the intensive care unit, Sam acquired weekly dressing modifications as his surgical crew deliberate the reconstruction of his stomach.

Given how a lot tissue had been misplaced, Dr O’Connor stated they determined to rebuild his stomach utilizing an artificial dermis substitute known as a “biodegradable temporizing matrix”.

Often used for burn victims, it’s placed on in layers permitting blood vessels and tissue to develop via it, finally rebuilding tissue.

It meant they have been in a position to keep away from taking muscle ‘flaps’ from different elements of Sam’s physique to make use of as grafts.

“[It] was working so well that we were able to get even more than that 3 or 4 millimetres of thickness without having to sacrifice the muscle from the other side of his chest,” Dr O’Connor stated.

They additionally put in a everlasting mesh to supply construction and pores and skin grafts to shut the wound.

Dr O’Connor stated after consulting the Australian Shark Incident Database and different medical literature, he believes Sam’s harm was probably the most intensive shark chunk harm ever recorded the place a affected person has survived.

“There has never been a report of someone who has had such significant tissue loss on their trunk, on their tummy, lower chest and on their flank, which is what makes the case particularly unique,” he stated.

Shark bites uncommon

Shark professional Dr Daryl McPhee, from Bond University, stated deadly shark bites and severe accidents have been attributable to white sharks, bull sharks and tiger sharks.

It is probably going {that a} bull shark or tiger shark bit Sam.

“There are a lot of shark species that occur in the Torres Strait — whilst there are some historical sites [of bites] they are thankfully rare,” Dr McPhee stated.

He stated most shark bites occurred to the legs and the arms, as most individuals bitten are browsing or swimming on the highest of the water.

He stated that given the chance of serious blood loss from a shark chunk, it was uncommon for somebody to outlive a big chunk to the torso.

“Besides blood loss, an issue that can occur is secondary infections,” he stated.

“The ocean is full of various forms of marine bacteria.”

He stated it was vital to keep in mind that given the quantity of people that use the ocean daily, bites are nonetheless very uncommon.

“However, such statistics are of no comfort to the friends and families of the victims of fatal bites,” he stated.

‘Grit and dedication’

Dr O’Connor stated Sam’s survival might be attributed not simply to his younger age, but additionally his energy and the help of his mum.

He stated it was “mind-blowing” Sam was in a position to swim the estimated 20 metres again to shore after the chunk.

“It’s amazing he was able to show so much grit and determination and such a will to survive” Dr O’Connor stated.

It was the identical dedication he confirmed all through his restoration.

After 4 weeks in hospital, he stood and walked once more for the primary time because the assault.

With common physio periods he has constructed up his energy — first utilizing a body, later shifting on crutches and eventually strolling unaided.

“He’s such a tough guy. He had four solid months of at least weekly trips to the operating theatre.” Dr O’Connor stated.

Ms Mosby stated whereas it was tough to look at Sam’s gradual restoration, she gained hope as he started to point out glimpses of his regular persona.

“Seeing his eyes light up, I was like ‘oh there’s my Sam’. Watching him push through, watching him battle every day and watching his spirit thrive,” she stated.

When he started to argue once more, she knew he was again.

“To have that first argument from him being sick to being well enough to have a go at me … Oh, that’s my baby. There he is,” she stated.

“He’s my extrovert, he’s bubbly, fearless. He’s brave.”

And whereas it might be anticipated that somebody who had survived such a trauma would keep away from the ocean sooner or later, Ms Mosby hopes that Sam can dwell with it, simply the best way he did earlier than.

Together, they’ve even researched sharks — watching movies and studying articles.

“Growing up on the island we don’t teach our children to fear the environment. You adapt, you change, you respect,” Ms Mosby stated.

And whereas Sam stated he feels fortunate to have survived, figuring out that many individuals don’t, he feels robust once more.

“It’s like a new me,” Sam stated.