Author Topic: 13-year-old girl bitten by shark; loses arm (Read 3409 times)

gofaster · « **on:** November 03, 2003, 11:18:31 AM »

NBC interviewed her brothers this morning. They had only good things to say about their sister. She seems like a good kid with good Christian morals was on the path to becoming a championship pro surfer until this accident. She lost her left arm just below the shoulder joint. The brothers said she would probably return to the water and continue her dream of being a pro surfer, but I would suspect that she's going to have a pretty steep learning curve. Not having her left arm is going to throw off her ability to maintain her balance, not to mention being able to get her board out beyond the shore break. If she does find the courage to go back in and try to surf, she'll probably do it as a bodyboarder.

They've set up a website for her at http://www.bethanyhamilton.com

Here's the story from Yahoo:

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Surfer Loses Arm in Hawaii Shark Attack
Sun Nov 2, 1:45 AM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo!

By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer

LIHUE, Hawaii - The water was clear and there was no indication of danger when a 13-year-old surfing star went out on the waves with her best friend and her friend's father.

But while Bethany Hamilton was lying on her board off Kauai's North Shore, a shark bit once and then disappeared, taking off her left arm just below the shoulder.

"Nobody saw it happen. She just yelled, 'A shark bit me!'" said her father, Tom Hamilton.

Bethany Hamilton remained in stable condition Saturday after the attack Friday morning. She underwent a blood transfusion and was preparing for a second surgery Monday, her father said.

Doctors at Wilcox Memorial Hospital said Bethany's top condition as a competitive athlete helped her survive the attack.

Bethany, of Princeville, was attacked in an area known as Tunnels, a quarter-mile off Makua Beach near Haena.

Bethany was surfing with best friend Alana Blanchard, also 13, and Alana's father, Holt Blanchard, her family said.

Holt Blanchard immediately applied a tourniquet to Hamilton's arm using a surfboard leash, the family said.

After the attack, lifeguards went out on personal watercraft to warn people about the shark, said Cyndi Ozaki, spokeswoman for Kauai County. County officials also closed the area between Ke'e and Wainiha beaches.

"The water was crystal clear according to people in the area, and there was no indication that there was a shark nearby," she said.

Neither the injury nor the beach closure deterred dozens of people from surfing Saturday in the waters where the attack took place.

"To not surf would be like taking away your breath," said Jill Schwed, 36, a Kilauea masseuse.

The beaches were officially reopened Saturday afternoon, after officials flew over the area and saw no evidence of other sharks.

The shark took a chunk out of Bethany's surfboard that measured about 16 inches across and 8 inches deep, penetrating nearly to the center of the board, which suggests the shark was 12 to 15 feet long, Kauai fire Battalion Chief Bob Kaden said. It may have been a tiger shark, said Randy Honebrink, spokesman for the state Shark Task Force.

Bethany is a competitive surfer who already had secured sponsorships and was expected to go pro, according to the Hanalei Surf Online Web site.

In August, she won the explorer women's division of the National Scholastic Surfing Association's Open and Explorer event on Kauai. In May, she won the women's division at the Local Motion-Ezekiel Surf Into Summer contest at Ala Moana on Oahu, beating out older surfers.

"She is probably the best young surfer I have ever seen," said Bobo Bollin, who works at the Hanalei Surf Company, which sponsors a surf team that includes Bethany. "She was going to be the women's world champion and I think she still will be."

Many said they expected Bethany to ride the waves again, but her father wasn't so sure.

"She's back and forth," Tom Hamilton said.

The shark attack was Hawaii's fourth this year. Honebrink said Hawaii averages three or four shark attacks a year. Hawaii's last shark attack this year was Oct. 5, when a woman was bitten while swimming near Kihei on Maui, Honebrink said.

majic · « **Reply #1 on:** November 03, 2003, 11:25:53 AM »

"Doctors at Wilcox Memorial Hospital said Bethany's top condition as a competitive athlete helped her survive the attack."

Anyone else find this a little weird? She's 13.

gofaster · « **Reply #2 on:** November 03, 2003, 11:33:16 AM »

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Originally posted by majic
"Doctors at Wilcox Memorial Hospital said Bethany's top condition as a competitive athlete helped her survive the attack."

Anyone else find this a little weird? She's 13.

Believe it or not, active kids recover quicker than sedantary kids because the body is growing in response to the exercise. Even at 13, the body is conditioned for physical stress through exercise. Physiologically, you don't get the big differential in muscle development between boys and girls until puberty kicks in.

Think "Olympic gymnastics". 13-year old girls, 18-year old guys.

capt. apathy · « **Reply #3 on:** November 03, 2003, 11:35:04 AM »

nope, my son was a boxer when he was younger, at 10 years old he was in top condition. he would run 5 miles a day on his off days. training days (5 per week) would be 3 miles plus he'd work out with guys twice his age and leave them in the dust.

Blank · « **Reply #4 on:** November 03, 2003, 12:06:05 PM »

Really sucks

shortboardings gonna be out for her pretty much but I recon she'd be able to longboard still and if need be on the bigger days go out on a body board.

shes probably more upset about about having to body board than loosing her arm knowing the feelings surfers have for 'spongers' (bodyboarders).

I 've been cruised a few times by sharks in Oz whilst surfing but you take it for granted that they are there.

She was just real real unlucky.

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majic "Doctors at Wilcox Memorial Hospital said Bethany's top condition as a competitive athlete helped her survive the attack. Anyone else find this a little weird? She's 13."

If shes surfing every day for a couple of years shes gonna be very very fit,

Imagine how fit all the AH players would be if you got a full workout everytime they played.

Sundiver · « **Reply #5 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:03:22 PM »

*chuckles* Yeah, I had a big one chase me halfway across SanFrancisco Bay once while windsurfing. Wasn't a fun experience.

Wlfgng · « **Reply #6 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:09:54 PM »

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Anyone else find this a little weird? She's 13.

not one bit.. haven't you watched the X-Games lately ?
they are just kids basically....
locally tons of kids, younger than that, are competitive.

It sure beats seeing those fat lazy kids asking mom for another trip to Mickey-D's

Vulcan · « **Reply #7 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:16:40 PM »

A friend/customer of mine lost an arm (and it shredded the other pretty much) to a great white. Its nasty what they do.

Mini D · « **Reply #8 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:18:25 PM »

An entire generation that didn't see the movie "Jaws". I was never at ease snorkling in Hawaii because of that movie. Thoughts of sharks were always there, and not really all the way in the back of my mind.

Nice to see she was OK.

MiniD

Yeager · « **Reply #9 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:54:03 PM »

SHARKBAIT! MAYBE? HA!!!

capt. apathy · « **Reply #10 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:55:11 PM »

I did ok with the sharks in Hawaii. only saw 1 reef shark in the 2 weeks I was there last year (at tunnels beach, btw). peaked over a lava-flow about 25ft down and found a 5-6 footer in a cleaning-station. I just let go and drifted off.

diving here makes me a bit more nervous. visability is very low and blues move awful fast. you'd already be lunch before you knew he was in the neigborhood.

GRUNHERZ · « **Reply #11 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:57:21 PM »

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Originally posted by Mini D

Nice to see she was OK.

MiniD

Be careful MiniD, showing support for this girl's suffering on the BBS could lead others to take up surfing and have a shark bite their arm off...

Mini D · « **Reply #12 on:** November 03, 2003, 01:58:32 PM »

I don't have a drysuit... so diving in Oregon isn't as much of a problem for me;) Gotta say though, no movie has ever left a lasting impression on me like Jaws (no pun intended).

MiniD

LePaul · « **Reply #13 on:** November 03, 2003, 02:02:45 PM »

Did you see the surf board? It was a huge bitemark, she's really lucky she only lost an arm.

And the blood loss, its a real credit to her conditioning, and her Dad's fast response, that she survived.

capt. apathy · « **Reply #14 on:** November 03, 2003, 02:07:34 PM »

kind of a funny side story.

within a month after jaws was released in the theater we had a family party at the house one of my aunts, we had these regularly with aunts uncles cousins. we always loved it at her house though. she had an above ground pool and a couple acres.

one of my uncles lived up in the Dalles and had caught a 6' sturgeon that morning, and hadn't had time to butcher it before the party.

he decided to put it in the back of the truck after laying plastic down and adding a bit of water (and refils at gas stations during the drive). and brought it to the party where him, my father and another uncle spelled each other off in carving up this fish. and everyone got 10 lbs or so to take home.

anyway he's got kind of a weird sense of humor and decided to dump the fish in the pool while he waited for everyone to show up.

as usual when I got there I never even went to the house. little brother and I just headed straight to the pool. I swear I must've levitated a couple feet off the water when I looked down and saw a 'shark' in the pool while at mid-cannonball.

as it is I somehow skipped accross the pool like a stone, and climbed the other wall fairly fast. I was barely wet.