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Bethany Hamilton (born February 8 , 1990 ) is a Surfer from Hawaii . She is known for surviving a Shark attack in which she lost her left Arm , and for overcoming the serious and debilitating injury to return to surfing. EARLY LIFE Hamilton was born in North Shore, Kauai . Both of her parents were keen surfers who had, in fact, specifically moved to Hawaii from the continental United States for the surfing opportunities. Bethany knew how to surf before she could walk. As a result, her family liked to joke that she had " Salt Water in her Vein s." Hamilton's surfing abilities progressed very quickly and, by the age of four, she was participating in the ''push in'' division of a Quiksilver surfing contest. (In this "push-in" competition, her father would push her and her mother would wait to catch her). Remarkably, Bethany won first place. She went on to win the 7-9 ''short board'' and ''long board'' competition in challenging conditions at the age of eight. Her senior career as a surfer started when she won the 2001 Haleiwa Menehune Championships 25th annual contest, in February of 2002 . In this competition, she placed 1st in the "13-under girls", 1st in the "17 under girls," and 2nd in the "12-under boys" division of the Volcom Puffer Fish contest. She also became a '' Rip Curl Girl'' team rider and made plans to become a Professional surfer. SHARK ATTACK On . It was a sunny day, and the waves were not very big, but she decided to surf any way. As Hamilton lay on her surfboard, waiting for the next set of waves to roll into the beach, her left arm dangled beside her in the water. Then, without warning a 14 Foot , (4.3 Metre ) Tiger Shark attacked her surfboard taking a 17 Inch (43 Cm ) wide bite of the board and her left arm. In jerking Hamilton back and forth, the shark ripped off her arm just below her Shoulder before disappearing. Although she was Bleeding profusely, Hamilton was able to compose herself enough to use her right arm to paddle in to the shore. Her friend's father was able to fashion a tourniquet around what was left of her arm before rushing her to the hospital. She lost 70% of her Blood that morning. Bethany said in her book Soul Surfer that the reason she kept calm was because of God watching over her. RECOVERY Despite the trauma of the incident, Hamilton was determined to return to surfing. Just 10 weeks after the accident, she returned to her board and went surfing again. She adopted a custom-made board. It was longer and slightly thicker which made it easier to paddle. Hamilton observed that she had to kick a lot harder to make up for the loss of her left arm. Not only did she teach herself to surf with only one arm, she also began surfing competitively in competitions again. She commented on this, saying, :“''When I got up on my first wave, I rode it all the way into the shore, and after that, I just had like, tears of happiness, I was so stoked to be back out there.''" As Of 2005 , Hamilton still aspires to become a professional surfer. Her story has been widely cited as a motivational parable. Hamilton claims that the loss of her arm was a blessing in disguise. She is happy that she now has the chance to be an inspiration to others. Since the attack, Bethany has appeared on '' 20/20 '', '' Good Morning America '', and '' Inside Edition ''. In 2004, MTV Books published Hamilton's book, ''Soul Surfer'' (ISBN 0743499220) which describes how she recovered from the loss of her left arm and returned to surfing. People had many fundraisers to buy her a prostetic arm and cover the medical bills. On November 15th a silent auction was held. They had surf gear/boards and other fun stuff. They had coffee stands and other kinds of stands and all the profits went to Bethany. Bethany was so amazed that almost the whole island had come together to support her. In July of 2004 Bethany won the ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete of the Year. Then in August she was presented with a special courage award at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards. She has had to travel to many states to be on television shows and receive awards. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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