A Virginia wife and mother critically injured in one of two shark attacks on the Gulf Coast continues to recover at a Florida hospital.

Elisabeth Foley, a 45-year-old wife and mother, sustained severe injuries to her midsection and lost her left hand in the Friday attack.

“She is making significant improvements and is in good spirits,’’ said her pastor, the Rev. Jeff Brauer of Winns Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Va., said Monday.

“All surgeries so far have gone well, and the doctors and nurses are absolutely encouraged.”

Foley, her husband, Ryan, and their three children were vacationing in Florida.

About 1:20 p.m. Friday, multiple 911 callers reported the woman was bitten by a shark as she was swimming past the first sandbar near WaterSound Beach. Bystanders began rendering care to the woman before South Walton Fire Department lifeguards and Walton County sheriff’s deputies arrived on-scene.

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Brauer said Foley’s oldest daughter called to tell him of the attack.

“I was able to pray with her,’’ he said. “The church family has been totally in touch with them ever since it happened.”

The pastor described Foley as a warm, loving, Christian person.

“You’ve heard the expression and it’s true of her, to know her is to love her,’’ Brauer said.

“She’s got such a very, very strong faith,’’ he said. “She’s made out of good stuff, and her faith is strong.”

Foley’s husband was with her when the attack happened. He and the rest of the family remain by her side at the hospital.

“He’s doing a great job,’’ Brauer said. “I told him last night I hope he’s gotten some rest and that he’s doing a great job as a Godly husband.”

Ryan Foley told the congregation Saturday that his wife was “hanging in there and has a super positive attitude,” according to the church.

“She got banged up pretty good. Thank the Lord she is so tough and in great physical condition. Her faith is what’s getting her through, coupled with countless other blessings,” he wrote, according to WTVR CBS 6.

An online fundraising site has been created for the family – GiveSendGo. As of Monday, nearly $47,000 had been raised for her ongoing care.

“She is a faithful believer of Jesus as her Lord and savior, and a true blessing to everyone she encounters,’’ the site reads. “She is a devoted wife and mother of three wonderful children.”

Less than two hours later, two Mountain Brook teens – Lulu Gribbin and McCray Faust – were attacked while searching for sand dollars in waist deep water near the sandbar at Seacrest Beach, which is about four miles east of where Foley was attacked.

Lulu lost her hand and leg in the attack. McCray sustained injuries to her foot.

Lulu’s mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, posted extensively Sunday about her daughter’s ordeal on the Caring Bridge website.

Surgeons told the family that the shark had bitten off Lulu’s left hand and that they had to amputate her right leg halfway up from her knee to her hip.

“She also had lost 2/3 of the blood in her body. Of course, no one wants that for your child but she is alive. They also told us that Lulu may be intubated for the next week or so and would need 4-5 surgeries to finalize her amputations,” the post stated.

Her mother said that Lulu recalled being with friends on a sand bar in waist high water, looking for sand dollars.

“I am not sure who noticed the shark first, but Lulu said it bit her hand and then her leg and then went for her other friend and got her foot. Lulu said a man grabbed her other arm and pulled her out and another younger boy helped him carry her to shore,” the post states.

“Once on the shore there were two doctors and two other young women one of whom was a nurse who were all surrounding Lulu. These individuals put tourniquets on Lulus wounds. Which I believe was crucial to saving Lulu’s life,” Gribbin wrote.