After having part of her leg amputated, the Florida teenager who sustained a major leg injury when a shark attacked her while she was searching for scallops near Tallahassee, Florida, is on the mend. The 17-year-old’s family just uploaded a video of her taking her first steps following surgery, only six days after the shark encounter.
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, 7 July 2022
Addison Bethea, 17, was swimming with her family near Keaton Beach when a 9-foot shark closed its teeth around her calf. She struck and poked the shark in the eyes until her brother, a firefighter, arrived to her aid.
He was able to extricate his sister from the shark and drag her into the boat of a stranger. She was rescued and transported to a hospital in Tallahassee.
Her family and Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare, where she is being treated, have both provided progress reports on her situation.
Doctors have been attempting to preserve as much of her limb as possible and to enhance her long-term movement since Addison arrived at TMH, as per a hospital statement.
Her previous procedures played an integral role of Tuesday’s surgery, which involved amputating her right leg just above the knee.
Shane, Addison’s dad, stated on GoFundMe that his daughter was in “severe discomfort from the leg and was crying about the bandage feeling too tight” after the operation.
He said that she had surgery on Sunday morning to assess a hematoma that had formed. The incision was kept exposed so that it could try to degrade in preparation for her upcoming operation on Tuesday.
He stated that to please keep her in prayers as God’s loving hands reach down to her and to remember to keep himself and her mother in prayers as well.
While Addison still has a tough journey ahead of her, her family reports that the girl is in excellent spirits.
Let’s all say a prayer for Addison as she recovers.
