Cash-strapped shark bite victim's wave of global publicity has not helped much financially

Chris Pospisil, the surfer who suffered a serious shark bite off New Smyrna Beach on July 14, has become something of a media sensation.

The 21-year-old Palm Bay college student's story has been on Good Morning America, ABC News, Fox, People magazine, the New York Post, and dozens of other media outlets. It has even gone global.

"I honestly do not know how Chris was put all the way to national news, but it was crazy," said Ashley Lumetta, his cousin, in an email to the News-Journal. "I think in total he did 4 or 5 interviews, and a couple of newspapers from around the world reached out."

Lumetta wasn't looking for fame for her cousin. She was looking for financial help. She co-organized a gofundme.com page to help Chris and his mom with medical bills and other expenses.

"I really don't know how or why it had to be such a popular story, we just hoped it would help him raise money. Which, I think it did a little. The media posts at least helped his friends at school and his friends from surfing realize what happened."

Unfortunately, all that attention hasn't translated into the level of help Chris will need. As of early Sunday morning, the gofundme.com page as of Monday morning had raised about $6,300, well short of its $80,000 goal and barely enough to put a dent in expected medical costs.

More: 'I never thought it would happen to me': Surfer recounts shark bite in New Smyrna Beach

The bite

Pospisil was sitting on his surfboard in about 4-6 feet of water 500 yards south of the jetty when he was bitten a little over a week ago.

“It came up from underneath the left side of my board and chomped down on my left foot and I was able to see my foot in its mouth as it bit down and pulled me under the water,” Pospisil said told the News-Journal in a previous article.

Pospisil then fought.

“I was just kinda, just blank, it was just immediately like fight or flight and I just kind of I kicked it with my right foot and it let go. I kind of just like surfaced up and immediately just screamed for my friend."

His best friend, Reece Redish, got Pospisil on his board, helped him to shore, and found a lifeguard.

“If he wasn't there, it would have been very bad,” Pospisil said of his friend. ”I don't think I could have gotten into the shore in time.”

The aftermath

Pospisil underwent four hours of surgery. The surgeon said he lost a lot of blood and he had to repair seven tendons. A small artery could not be repaired. The surgeon "even found pieces of a shark's tooth shattered and stuck in his bone," according to one of Lumetta's posts.

On his Instagram page he wrote: "I cannot walk for 6-8 weeks following that I also have 6-8 months of physical therapy before I can get back into the water."

Chris is a senior at the University of Central Florida working on a criminal justice degree. He has been paying for his apartment and schooling working in construction and remodeling. He won't be able to work for months. In addition, his mother is affected as she is helping with the medical costs.

What's next?

Lumetta said the media calls have stopped. Now that the firestorm has subsided, she's had some time to reflect on the coverage. She feels that some of it was a bit much.

"I just think they wanted to exploit the situation, because of shark week," she said.

Shark Week is a much-hyped week-long series on the Discovery channel. It started Sunday, July 23.

"We definitely do not agree with how the media was posting Great White shark photos, and exploiting the situation," she wrote. "It is merely that Chris has a long recovery and needs help with paying for the medical costs, PT (physical therapy), and at least 8 months of not being able to work."

As for Chris, she said he's doing well, he's home and still on pain medication and antibiotics and getting a lot of help from his mom, who has had to take over nursing duties.

As for fundraising for Chris? She's going to try it the old-fashioned way.

"I think our next step in our fundraiser will be planning a couple of events and doing some fundraising with local businesses here in Melbourne, who I know personally," she wrote. (Melbourne is immediately north of Palm Bay.) "My boyfriend's band and some of our friends are all (in) local bands…so we are hoping to put something together here in a few months, maybe after Chris's birthday (which is in September)."

Go here to access Chris's gofundme.com page.

Frank Fernandez contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Shark bite victim off New Smyrna Beach has become media sensation