TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The teenage girl seriously injured when a shark attacked her off Florida’s Gulf Coast had part of her leg amputated this week.
Addison Bethea, 17, was attacked by a 9-foot shark a week ago at Keaton Beach, which is located southeast of Tallahassee, according to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office.
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The 17-year-old girl had been looking for scallops in the water with her family when the shark wrapped its jaws around the girl’s thigh, according to a statement from her family.
The girl poked the shark in the eyes and punched it before her brother, who is a firefighter, managed to fight the shark off and pull the girl onto a stranger’s boat. The brother put a tourniquet on the girl’s leg to slow blood loss. After she was brought to shore, the girl was airlifted about 60 miles to a hospital in Tallahassee, the state capital, officials said.
The Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare Marketing and Communications Department has been following her recovery -- posting updates about her condition.
“Addison Bethea, 17, of Perry, Florida, is recovering at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) after a successful surgery today to amputate her right leg just above the knee following a shark attack on Thursday, June 30,” a release from the hospital said. “Bethea has a long road to recovery that will require extensive rehabilitation, but her family says she is remaining strong and upbeat.”
The family created a Facebook page called Fight Like Addison for those who wanted to keep up with her story. On the page, the family posted a video of Addison walking just one day after the surgery.
July 7th 6 days post shark attack 1 day post op Our girl took her first steps today and managed to make it all the way down the hallway! She is such a warrior 🤜🏻🦈 nothing is going to stop her from gaining back her life 🙏🏽❤️ #fightlikeaddison
Posted by Fight Like Addison on Thursday, July 7, 2022
“Part of the reason Addison is able to be so strong right now is because of the love she is getting,” the family said on Facebook. “From the media to friends to absolute total strangers, the support has been incredible.”
Addison’s family created a GoFundMe to help with medical expenses. As of this report, $60,133 has been raised. Click here to read more.