Pit bull attack victim thankful to be alive

"I really believe the hardest part of this is behind her."

That was the prevailing message from Dr. Louis Riina, the head plastic surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow who oversaw the recovery of Shashi Sharma, the 62-year old North Merrick resident who was attacked by two pit bulls outside of the Brookside School on Sept. 29.

On Tuesday, following two grueling months of surgeries and rehabilitation, Sharma was cleared by her doctors to be sent home so she could spend Thanksgiving with her family, which includes her husband, Mukesh, and son, Suraj.

Sitting beside Suraj, Riina and other physicians who tended to her, Sharma spoke publicly for the first time since the attack, issuing a brief statement. “I want to say this from the bottom of my heart,” she said during a news conference in NUMC’s auditorium. “I am very grateful for Dr. Riina and his medical staff. I'm still recovering every day. Please respect my privacy. Thank you very much and happy Thanksgiving.”

Then, Sharma, who is in real estate and was a doctor in India before moving to North Merrick in the 1980s, was wheeled from the room by hospital staff. Despite her horrific injuries, which were described in detail by Riina, she showed no major physical effects from the attack.

According to Riina, Sharma entered the hospital with “life-threatening” injuries, including the loss of skin and fat, extensive muscle damage, tendon damage, and lacerations to her face, neck and scalp. "The left arm, from the wrist up to the top of the biceps, was missing skin,” said Riina.

She also lost a great deal of blood, and was rushed to the operating room, where she underwent surgery “for several hours,” Riina said. Sharma spent the next two months in the intensive-care unit and physical therapy.

Riina said that Sharma can now walk with the help of a walker, and has even taken steps without it. “"She's walking beautifully in physical therapy,” said Riina.

Sharma’s son, Suraj, 23, also fielded questions about his mother’s condition. "Now she's in very good spirits,” he said. “She knows that this was a long process and she's glad to go home after two months."