The young Addison Bethea, aged 28, who was attacked last Thursday by a shark in waters near a beach in northwestern Florida and suffered “devastating damage” to one leg, a second intervention was scheduled for this Saturday, according to hospital sources.
The result of the surgery at Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (TMH) is unknown so far, the medical center to which she was airlifted from Keaton Beach.
The young woman was collecting “scallops”, a type of mollusk similar to the scallop that occurs on Florida beaches, when she was bitten several times by a 2.7 meter long 9 foot shark which, according to Bethea’s father, Shane Bethea, she had to “fight” and hit the shark to make it leave her.
He finally managed to get away with the help of his brother, Rhett Willingham, who is a firefighter and EMT and he put her on a boat that was in the place and made a tourniquet to control the bleeding, which “saved her life,” according to her father.
Once on the ground Addison was airlifted to a Bixler Trauma & Emergency Center at TMH and be stabilized and undergo emergency surgery to restore blood flow to her right leg.
According to a statement from TMH, the shark attack caused Addison devastating damage to the soft tissue of the affected leg .
According to TMH, this Saturday she was going to undergo a second surgery to further investigate the extent damage to the leg and determine what treatment options are available in order to save it.
“Addison has a long journey to recovery, but today she was in a good mood, surrounded by her family in the Tallahassee Memorial Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,” the hospital said.
Addison’s family thanked their community in Taylor County (northwest Flor ida) and to all who have reached out to “offer their prayers and support during this difficult time.”
According to the International Shark Attack File, an entity linked to the University of Florida, this state is where the most shark attacks on humans occur.
In 2021 there were 28 cases in Florida, which means the 38 % of the total that occurred that year worldwide, when there were a total of 73 unprovoked , of which 9 were fatal, and 39 provoked.
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