Eleonora Boi, the six-months-pregnant wife of former NBA forward Danilo Gallinari, says she remains “traumatized” after a shark bite earlier this month sent her to a hospital in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Speaking Thursday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Boi recalled swimming in waist-deep water with Gallinari and their two children—a 4-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son—when she felt searing pain in her thigh. “My first thought was, maybe it’s a huge jellyfish,” she said. “But it wasn’t a jellyfish.”
The family rushed toward shore, and a bystander immediately pressed a towel against the wound. “She was an angel,” Boi said, noting that Gallinari stayed beside her while the woman helped control the bleeding. “I was crying and screaming for help, in Italian, and thinking, ‘I don’t want to die. I want my baby to be safe.’”
Doctors conducted several hours of tests to confirm the pregnancy was not in danger before operating on Boi’s leg. Gallinari later announced that the couple are expecting a boy. Boi is scheduled for weekly checkups and is expected to make a full recovery.
Boi later tried to add humor on Instagram, joking that her lawyers would contact the shark, but she admitted the memory still leaves her unsettled. “When I remember, I’m still scared. It’s difficult,” she said.
Boi and Gallinari married in 2022. Gallinari played 14 NBA seasons, including stints with the New York Knicks, and spent last season in Puerto Rico’s top professional league.
Source: Hoops Wire
