She's the real deal...rock on!

**truth** · 11-21-2003, 11:33 AM

By MATT SEDENSKY
Associated Press Writer
Published November 21, 2003, 6:51 AM CST

KILAUEA, Hawaii -- Before losing her arm in a shark attack, Bethany Hamilton was a top amateur surfer who was expected to turn pro. Now she is unsure whether she will ever surf competitively again. But she said she will not give up her passion.

Just this past Halloween, she was lying on her surfboard, taking a break after catching some early morning waves, when the gray blur emerged near her left arm as it dangled in the Pacific.

Bethany was suddenly being jerked back and forth.

"I looked down at the red water," she recalled. "Right away I knew it was a shark and I knew my arm was gone."

The 13-year-old lost more than half her blood and all but four inches of her arm, though those who witnessed the attack say Bethany never screamed or panicked.

"There's no need for that," she told The Associated Press nearly three weeks after the attack, in one of the first in a series of interviews and TV appearances. "I wasn't that scared. I didn't think I was going to die or anything."

Tall and lean, with blond hair and a tan, Bethany has accepted her misfortune with remarkable serenity.

"There's no time machine," she said. "I can't change it. That was God's plan for my life and I'm going to go with it."

For all the nightmarish drama the shark attack conveys, Bethany recounts it with nonchalance: She arose around 5 a.m. on Oct. 31, heading out to do what she loves -- surfing with her best friend, Alana Blanchard. After about a half-hour of action, she took a break, dangling her arm in the ocean when the 15-foot tiger shark attacked.

Blanchard's father, Holt, surfing nearby, used a surf leash as a tourniquet. Fellow surfers towed her in on a surfboard. She blacked out briefly, then woke up ashore.

When she reached Wilcox Memorial Hospital, another amazing part of the story unfolded: The girl's father, Tom Hamilton, had been lying on the operating table, moments away from knee surgery, when a doctor burst through the doors, saying the room was needed for a shark attack victim. When he heard it was a 13-year-old, Tom Hamilton's heart sank. He knew it was either his daughter or her best friend.

Bethany spent nearly a week in the hospital and has remained largely in seclusion since then.

When her bandages were removed -- and her stump was revealed -- one of her brothers turned white. Her mother nearly collapsed. And her grandmother went outside and wept.

On Thursday, her stitches were to come out and she awaited word on when she could return to the water.

"If I was like a person that just quit surfing after this, I wouldn't be a real surfer," she said. "I'm definitely going to get back in the water."

Bethany hopes to be fitted with prosthetics allowing her to continue not only to surf but also to play the guitar. She plans to try snowboarding for the first time this winter, and she is aiming for a career in photography.

Around Bethany's neck hangs a glittering gold surfboard -- a get-well gift from a family friend. It has a diamond in the center and a bite taken out of the top, just like her own board, with its 16-inch gash.

Bethany said the attack is "pretty much all I think about," and she has revisited the horrible event in her dreams four times since the attack.

But she said: "If you don't get over it, then you'll just be sad and cry."
Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

**iceman** · 11-21-2003, 11:41 AM

She is truly amazing.

With that said, and I know it's horrible, but when I hear her talk about surfing again, all I can think of is her paddling around in circles.

**watersnowdirt** · 11-21-2003, 11:51 AM

Wow.

Wow.

I don't even know what to say. She's truly amazing. I heard about this immediately after it happened, and I'm so glad to hear she's coming through this so well. She was a risng star in the surf scene.

Iceman - that doesn't strike me as that funny, just a bit heartless. I know you don't mean it that way, but just giving you my reaction.

**Pinner** · 11-21-2003, 11:55 AM

Her resilience and unshakable spirit amaze me.

**phUnk** · 11-21-2003, 11:56 AM

Originally posted by iceman
when I hear her talk about surfing again, all I can think of is her paddling around in circles.

Enjoy Hell. I've heard it gets lots of snow.

**frozenwater** · 11-21-2003, 11:56 AM

oh damn ice. you are going to hell. Of course you knew that already, which is why I could laugh at your post also. I knew your soul was corrupt, and that others would judge you.

BUT you have the last laugh, cause its like, your ok with that.

---onto sufer girl, yes she is awesome, yes she rules, but I have a hard time believing that IF there was a god, he would really WANT a shark to bite her arm off.

NOT the kind of god I'm going to pray to anytime soon.

KQ · 11-21-2003, 12:01 PM

Originally posted by frozenwater
I have a hard time believing that IF there was a god, he would really WANT a shark to bite her arm off.

NOT the kind of god I'm going to pray to anytime soon.

My thoughts too - believing this way is good for your psyche (if you're a believer). It helps you make sense of the senseless.

I've told myself this so many times in life that now I'm like "ENOUGH!! I don't like your plan for me and I want a second opinion!"

That said - it's amazing what ppl can endure and come up smiling. She reminds me of that guy that cut off his own arm when he was pinned by a boulder last summer.

**Pinner** · 11-21-2003, 12:06 PM

Originally posted by KQ
She reminds me of that guy that cut off his own arm when he was pinned by a boulder last summer.

You think he had something to do with it?

Aaron Ralston is a local boy round these parts. Crazy fukker is back to rock climbing, bounding up mountains and losing his shit at concerts just like the spazz he was before.

KQ · 11-21-2003, 12:08 PM

Originally posted by Pinner
You think he had something to do with it?

It's all a great conspiracy and everyone's got their fingers in the pie.

**Pinner** · 11-21-2003, 12:10 PM

In the interest of retaining them, I'll keep my fingers and other appendages out of the pie, thank you very much.

**1080Rider** · 11-21-2003, 12:33 PM

That little girl is fackin' amazing. I saw her a couple of days afterwards while still in the hospital (I didn't go to see her, I saw it on tv). She said she was happy it was her and not her friend!!! That's pretty amazing shit. She's pretty messed up and has THE BEST attitude I've ever seen. Pretty impressive, gives me hope for human kind when I see people like her.

**Beaver** · 11-21-2003, 12:37 PM

Originally posted by KQ
It's all a great conspiracy and everyone's got their fingers in the pie.

Slow pitch.

KQ · 11-21-2003, 12:40 PM

Originally posted by Beaver
Slow pitch.

Shhhhhhhhhh be vewy vewy quiet........they're all sleeping

Edit: Serious - this is a serious post about an amazing spirit. NO JOKING AROUND BEAVER!

**board** · 11-21-2003, 12:44 PM

Originally posted by KQ

Edit: Serious - this is a serious post about an amazing spirit. NO JOKING AROUND BEAVER!

isn't laughter the best medicine though ?

**Beaver** · 11-21-2003, 12:47 PM

Originally posted by KQ
Shhhhhhhhhh be vewy vewy quiet........they're all sleeping

Edit: Serious - this is a serious post about an amazing spirit. NO JOKING AROUND BEAVER!

Aw geez. I' just go hang my head in shame. (and think about pie)

KQ · 11-21-2003, 12:52 PM

Originally posted by Beaver
Aw geez. I' just go hang my head in shame. (and think about pie)

http://eat.epicurious.com/images/home76/sbox_ill.jpg

**truth** · 11-21-2003, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by KQ
http://eat.epicurious.com/images/home76/sbox_ill.jpg

I like your pie.

**watersnowdirt** · 11-21-2003, 01:46 PM

Originally posted by KQ
http://eat.epicurious.com/images/home76/sbox_ill.jpg

come on KQ - you know you can't show pix without a recipe to go along with it!

KQ · 11-21-2003, 01:52 PM

Originally posted by watersnowdirt
come on KQ - you know you can't show pix without a recipe to go along with it!

Awwwww pumpkin pie is such a no brainer - it's one of the few recipes I follow off a can. Just buy the Libby packed pumpkin and follow the steps on the label.

But........just to humor you how about this?

Shark Bite
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty. Ingredients
1 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Vodka
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
Fill Sprite or 7 UP
1 dash Grenadine

Glass type: Highball

Directions: Build in order over ice in a highball glass. The grenadine will give a blood effect as it sinks towards the bottom of the glass.

**iceman** · 11-21-2003, 02:21 PM

The "Shark Bite". Ouch. Guess you'll be meeting me in hell.

**truth** · 11-21-2003, 02:26 PM

Originally posted by iceman
Guess you'll be meeting me in hell.

You'll like it, it's nice here. We have DirectTV.

KQ · 11-21-2003, 02:27 PM

Originally posted by iceman
The "Shark Bite". Ouch. Guess you'll be meeting me in hell.

I'm so there.......

**natty dread** · 11-21-2003, 03:17 PM

Originally posted by Pinner
Her resilience and unshakable spirit amaze me.

^Yes.
Kids constantly amaze me with their resilience. I had to go to a funeral for a 40 year woman in my town the other day. Sho died suddenly, right in front of her husband and 10 year-old daughter, of an aneurysm. This little girl stood up on the podium in front of the coffin and an audience of about 300 and talked about her mom for 10 minutes, totally off the top of her head. She was amazing--her words were a grown-up sounding tribute to her mother, in addition to expressing her loss as a 10 year-old might. She even said things to try to comfort the adults in the audience. I was in awe.
I think the surfer girl and altachic ought to get together and do a Positivity World Tour.

Ice, always pushing the envelope--that's why we love ya man.

**frozenwater** · 11-21-2003, 03:39 PM

Originally posted by KQ
Awwwww pumpkin pie is such a no brainer - it's one of the few recipes I follow off a can. Just buy the Libby packed pumpkin and follow the steps on the label.

But........just to humor you how about this?

Shark Bite
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Qty. Ingredients
1 oz. Blue Curacao
1/2 oz. Vodka
3 oz. Pineapple Juice
Fill Sprite or 7 UP
1 dash Grenadine

Glass type: Highball

Directions: Build in order over ice in a highball glass. The grenadine will give a blood effect as it sinks towards the bottom of the glass.

skip the grenadine, use gin instead of vodka throw some OJ in there....and you have a blue lagoon. I suggest drinking one blue lagoon to get you in the right mood, then go for the shark bite.

**tuffy109** · 11-21-2003, 03:57 PM

so i guess you haven't heard tom joyner making fun of her?

biggest flame war ever this week surfermag.com vs the tom joyner bb.

Thread: She's the real deal...rock on!

Thread Tools

Rate This Thread

She's the real deal...rock on!

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

We proudly support: