"I don’t want to die I want my baby safe" - former NBA player Danilo Gallinari’s wife Eleonora Boi recalls shark attack

Italian sports journalist Eleonora Boi has spoken out for the first time about a terrifying day in Puerto Rico. She is married to former New York Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari. It was meant to be a simple family trip to the beach.

Instead, it turned into a moment she will never forget. Boi says she still remembers the shock, one second, she was in the water with her family. Next, she was in pain and struggling to understand what had happened. People ran to help, and her husband rushed to her side. Doctors later gave her the news she had been desperate to hear - her unborn baby was safe after the shark bite.

Eleonora Boi recalls shark attack while with Danilo Gallinari in Puerto Rico

On July 31, the sun was high over Carolina, Puerto Rico, as Eleonora Boi stood in waist-deep water, feeling the warm waves brush against her legs.

Her husband, former New York Knicks first-round pick Danilo Gallinari, was nearby with their two children. She was six months pregnant, enjoying a calm afternoon, when everything shifted in an instant.

A sudden, sharp pain shot through her thigh, burning so fiercely it stole her breath. At first, she thought it might be a jellyfish, but when she looked down, the reality struck - a shark had bitten her.She began to scream for help.

Gallinari, who was on the sand with their son, ran into the water. A woman nearby came to assist, pressing a towel on Eleonora’s thigh until help arrived.

Speaking to Good Morning America on August 14, Eleonora said, “I thought, “Oh my God, I don’t want to die. I want my baby safe.” She called the woman who helped her “an angel” and wished she knew her name.Doctors ran hours of tests in Río Piedras to check her unborn baby. Once the baby was confirmed safe, surgeons operated on her thigh.

She now visits the doctor every week.

Danilo Gallinari shares emotional toll after wife’s injury

Danilo Gallinari currently plays for Vaqueros de Bayamon in Puerto Rico’s Baloncesto Superior Nacional. Before that, he spent 16 years in the NBA, starting with the Knicks as the No. 6 pick in the 2008 draft.Gallinari told GMA that “the body recovers faster than the mind.” He said the family is thankful the bite did not harm the baby, who is due in November 2025.Eleonora admitted she still feels “traumatized.” She has a visible wound, but says the mental scars are deeper.Also Read: 'Thought he’d just be a hometown hero': LeBron James' wife Savannah James recalled her early expectationsThe couple thanked the medical staff and the unnamed woman who assisted them at the beach. Gallinari said, “She saved a life that day.”