Surfer Girl Won't Give Up Her Passion

AP

[Slicksadick]

Updated: 06:56 AM EST

Surfer Girl Won't Give Up Her Passion

By MATT SEDENSKY, AP

KILAUEA, Hawaii (Nov. 21) - 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.

	AP Bethany Hamilton says the worst thing about the shark attack was seeing her loved ones cry.

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."

11/21/03 00:13 EST

Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Bethany Hamilton says the worst thing about the shark attack was seeing her loved ones cry.

Missed her calling in the military.

[wtc911]

The Hamilton family of Kauai is legendary in surfing. Billy, now @ 55-60 was one of the early modern style masters who built a business around his lifestyle. His son Laird is arguably the best waterman on the planet. I don't know if she's part of that clan but Kauai is a small island and Hamilton is not that common a name there. Either way she's got grit.

[b9]

This is a brave little 13-year-old Christian girl who has survived a shark attack.

Beautiful response.

Courage, bravery, "taking it like a man", aspiring goals, dauntless spirit...these are in short supply these days, by anyone, let alone a girl.

The only thing I liked about the new movie Master and Commander was the boy who survived amputation. While I do agree that amputees are exploited to further the anti-war agenda (which that movie surely did), I think this girl proves that the stuff we're truly made of is more than flesh, bones and blood.

[MineralMan]

"Courage, bravery, "taking it like a man", aspiring goals, dauntless spirit...these are in short supply these days, by anyone, let alone a girl.

"

Thanks. Such attributes really aren't so rare. They don't often make the national media, but you'll find plenty of stories of people with that kind of strength in your local media. They're all around you.

This case, since it involved a shark attack (always a rare event), got national media, and we all get to see a brave kid who just wants to get better and get back on her surfboard.

Unlike some here, I celebrate this young girls courage and spunk, just as I would, and have, the courage of young men and women who don't get so much publicity.

[b9]

You are a man of principle and clarity. I like the way you think and reason.

[Fudd]

It's a dolphin. Really.

[Doe Eyes]

Notice the media is overlooking the fact that she is homeschooled.

Yes, had she not been home schooled, you can bet her "public schooling" would have been played up big time by the Liberal Press.

[Poohbah]

I agree she's tough, but I think you will find plenty of non-whiner amputees in Walter-Reed Army Hospital these days too.

This 13-year-old girl is in fine company, then.

[CanadianLibertarian]

That's so stupid. She's a talented athelete. BTW, what's wrong with women athletes competing in sports that they do quite well in (like surfing)?

Well she may well be a talented athlete, and there's nothing wrong with her competing in any sport. My point was not anything to do with being "wrong". My point is the media is hyping this story to advance a feminist agenda ie. "girls are exactly the same as boys and can and should do everything they do." My problem is with the media, not with the unfortunate young girl.

If you doubt my claim, refer to numerous news stories that refer to this 13-year old as a woman (!) These people are so frantic to promote their Feminazi agenda they ignore empirical reality ie. that this is no woman, but an adolescent girl.

[b9]

My point is the media is hyping this story to advance a feminist agenda

Well, I prefer the "dauntless spirit" motive to this story...
Also fresh in my mind are the countless nightmares of oppression we're hearing about women in the Muslim culture... and to think, not only does this young woman dare to compete in a male dominated field, but she actually puts everyone to shame by her attitude.

There are many stories that can suit a feminist agenda, which can actually benefit everyone else as well.

Funny, I never hear high praise from the feminists for the plucky and talented Ann Coulter :o)

[MineralMan]

"Yes, had she not been home schooled, you can bet her "public schooling" would have been played up big time by the Liberal Press."

Not really. Where she goes to school is completely irrelevant to this story. This is not about her academic achievements in any way. It is the story of a girl who got her arm bitten off by a shark, is recovering, and plans to resume surfing. She gives credit to the deity she believes in. Her educational background is not an issue here.

[MineralMan]

"My point is the media is hyping this story to advance a feminist agenda ie. "girls are exactly the same as boys and can and should do everything they do." " Not in the story at the top of this thread. That she is a girl is a fact. Nobody said anything about her gender except to call her "she" and a girl. She a talented surfer, who was probably going to have a professional career, just like many other female surfers. I've seen footage of her surfing, and she's very good at it. This story is about her courage and spunk. She's lost an arm, but isn't planning on it ruining her life. That's the story. There's no agenda here.

[CollegeRepublican]

Notice the media is overlooking the fact that she is homeschooled.

Alot of competitive surfers are homeschooled. Also being a haole, it is probably good to be homeschooled where she lives.

The surfbreak where she was attacked is called Tunnels. I have dived there, it is a pretty cool reef with lava tubes in the reef face. I always heard that there were some big sharks there.

[GladesGuru]

At the risk of having to spend the day in my Nomex flame suit, the real reason the surfer got the publicity is that she is a head turner, as is Pvt. Lynch.

Beauty sells, draws viewers, readers, - all of which feed the media coffers. Should you doubt this, how many photos were there of unattractive women in the media? Hummmnnnn???

[CollegeRepublican]

A 15 foot Tiger Shark was pulled from the waters near where this attack took place by legendary surfer Bill Hamilton (no relation to the girl). However, there was no evidence that this was the guilty shark.

[CollegeRepublican]

They are not related. However, Bill did catch a large shark last week.

[KantianBurke]

"Course they didn't catch the right one. Y'all know me. Know how I earn a livin'. I'll catch this bird for you, but it ain't gonna be easy. Bad fish! Not like going down to the pond and chasing bluegills and tommycocks. This shark, swallow you whole. No shakin', no tenderizin', down you go. And we gotta do it quick, that'll bring back your tourists, put all your businesses on a payin' basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant! I value my neck a lot more than three thousand bucks, chief. I'll find him for three, but I'll catch him, and kill him, for ten. But you've gotta make up your minds. If you want to stay alive, then ante up. If you want to play it cheap, be on welfare the whole winter. I don't want no volunteers, I don't want no mates, there's too many captains on this island. Ten thousand dollars for me by myself. For that you get the head, the tail, the whole damn thing."

[b9]

What's attractive is the gory in this story,
and the fact it hacked her arm off, and her glory...
and despite her pain and loss,
she will not complain or toss
self-pitied epithets of how she's OH so sorry.

[Celtjew Libertarian]

Her looks may be part of it. However, there were several boys who were attacked by sharks down here in Florida that got some national new coverage as well, a few years back.

The fact that she was a young athlete expected to turn pro any day is part of the story as well. Imagine if that 14-year-old kid who just signed a pro soccer contract were seriously injured in an accident. I think he would get similar national coverage.

[seamus]

I don't doubt that. My point was that you can't deny that the "girl doing a traditionally boys sport" angle -- and a cute one at that -- was part of the reason the story was written.