Family gives update on woman mauled by dogs, says ‘prayers are working’

An Abbeville County woman who was mauled by three dogs is still fighting for her life, according to her family. (Source: WHNS)
Published: Apr. 5, 2022 at 11:32 AM EDT

ABBEVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WHNS/Gray news) – A South Carolina woman continues to fight for her life at a local hospital after being attacked by three dogs, including two pit bulls, last month.

The Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office said Kyleen Waltman was viciously attacked outside of a home in Abbeville County on March 21.

WHNS reports she was walking from a friend’s home to her mother’s house when the attack happened.

She had to be airlifted to a medical facility. Both arms were amputated and part of her colon was removed after the attack. She may have to have her esophagus removed as well, her family said.

Waltman has been sedated so she doesn’t aggravate her spinal cord by trying to move, but family members said she was fully awake Monday and was told about the injuries to her arms.

Family members said the news gave her a lot of anxiety, so she was sedated again.

“The Lord has brought her this far for a reason. Her story is not done... She’s still fighting. Prayers are working and she’s healing slowly,” Waltman’s sister, Shenna Green, wrote in an update on GoFundMe.

Waltman was scheduled to get a prosthetic on her right arm. However, according to her family, doctors had to remove her arm to her shoulder due to an infection detected.

The woman’s sister said Waltman is a mother of three and recently became a grandmother.

“She just found out she’s a grandma and she can’t even hold the grandbaby,” Green said. “That’s going to be devastating.”

The dogs in the attack were seized by Abbeville County Animal Control, and police said their investigation remains ongoing.

Copyright 2022 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.