On Thursday, July 1st, 2022, Addison Bethea and her brother were scalloping in shallow waters in Keaton Beach in northwestern Florida’s Taylor Country in water about five-feet deep when a 9-foot shark suddenly latched onto her and bit her.
Addison’s brother, Rhett Willingham, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, raced to her rescue and put a tourniquet on her leg to control the bleeding while she was brought back to the beach on a boat by a good Samaritan.
After the attack, Addison Bethea was interviewed by Good Morning America from her hospital bed on Saturday morning.
In the interview, the 17 year old victim told reporters, “And the next thing I know something latches onto my leg. I remember from watching the Animal Planet to like…punch it in the nose or something like that. And I couldn’t get around to his nose the way he bit me.”
Her brother added, “She came back up and I saw, like, the blood and everything, and I saw the shark. So then I swam over there, grabbed her, and then pushed them all, kind of trying to separate them. And he just kept coming. So I grabbed her, swam backwards and kicked him and then yelled for help.”
Addison was brought to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where they listed her in critical condition. Doctors performed emergency surgery and were able to help her from suffering from extensive damage to her right leg.
Yet, Addison has an appointment on Saturday to have a second surgery to further investigate the extent of the damage to her leg and determine what treatment options are available with the goal of saving her leg.
“Addison has a long journey to recovery, but she was in good spirits today, surrounded by her family in Tallahassee Memorial’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,” the hospital told reporters.
Link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/shark-attack-florida-beach-leaves-teenage-girl-injured/story?id=86057289
Addison’s brother, Rhett Willingham, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, raced to her rescue and put a tourniquet on her leg to control the bleeding while she was brought back to the beach on a boat by a good Samaritan.
After the attack, Addison Bethea was interviewed by Good Morning America from her hospital bed on Saturday morning.
In the interview, the 17 year old victim told reporters, “And the next thing I know something latches onto my leg. I remember from watching the Animal Planet to like…punch it in the nose or something like that. And I couldn’t get around to his nose the way he bit me.”
Her brother added, “She came back up and I saw, like, the blood and everything, and I saw the shark. So then I swam over there, grabbed her, and then pushed them all, kind of trying to separate them. And he just kept coming. So I grabbed her, swam backwards and kicked him and then yelled for help.”
Addison was brought to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital where they listed her in critical condition. Doctors performed emergency surgery and were able to help her from suffering from extensive damage to her right leg.
Yet, Addison has an appointment on Saturday to have a second surgery to further investigate the extent of the damage to her leg and determine what treatment options are available with the goal of saving her leg.
“Addison has a long journey to recovery, but she was in good spirits today, surrounded by her family in Tallahassee Memorial’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,” the hospital told reporters.
Link: https://abcnews.go.com/US/shark-attack-florida-beach-leaves-teenage-girl-injured/story?id=86057289
