A teenager faces loss of part of her leg in a shark attack on a popular beach, according to a report in New York Post† The newspaper quoted local authorities as saying the girl was swimming off the coast of Florida when the attack took place.
According to a Facebook after shared by the girl’s father, Shane Bethea, on June 30, his daughter Addison was attacked by a shark on Keaton Beach in Florida.
She was swimming in five feet of water about 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee, when the shark — an estimated 30 feet in length — suddenly attacked and bit her right thigh.
“The shark bit her once and then attacked her again on her right thigh. She tried to poke it in the eye and punch it, but it wouldn’t let go,” his father said in the Facebook after.
“By the grace of God she was with her brother Rhett Willingham, who is a first responder/firefighter, who acted quickly to literally fend off the shark and pull her away and into a nearby boat belonging to an unknown person you are),” added Mr. Bethea.
Mr Willingham placed a tourniquet on her leg to minimize blood loss and kept her awake, ultimately saving her life. The teen was flown to a hospital in Tallahassee, about 80 miles from the beach, for emergency surgery.
According to the Facebook after, doctors first stabilized Addison while trying to treat her leg. They had to remove a vein from her left leg to create an artery in her right to restore blood flow to her foot and lower leg. The nerve at the back of the thigh was seriously injured.
The doctors are unsure of the leg’s condition at this point and want to evaluate it daily to see what needs to be done.
“She woke up and communicated with us by typing on her phone. She was cheerful and joked about beating up the shark. They came in moments later and decided she was good enough to detubate her. The first what she asked for was a Wendy’s Frosty,’ Mr Bethea said.
He also thanked everyone who contacted him for his after.
According to the Aftershark attacks in Florida, which account for 40 percent of all pieces in the world.
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