Bethany Hamilton
Jackson B.
Early Life
On February 8, 1990 Bethany Hamilton was born, in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii, her parents were Tom and Cheri. Bethany grew up in a primarily surfing enviroment, along with older brothers Noah and Tim, Hamilton learned to surf the waves at a much younger age than most. She began competitive surfing at age 8, and by age 9 she had earned her first sponsorship.
A member of the Hanalei Surf Co. team, Hamilton proved to be able to hang with the better surfers in competition. In May 2003, she won both her age group and the open division of Hawaii's Local Motion/Ezekiel Surf Into Summer event. A little later, she took second in the open women's division of the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) National Championships at San Clemente, California.
Shark Attack
Blanchard's father made a device to stop the bleeding from his surfboard leash and led everyone to shore. Hamilton was rushed to Wilcox Memorial Hospital, taking her fathers place from the operating room where he was just about to under go knee surgery. Although approximately 60 percent of her blood had been lost following the attack. She had several surgeries, and was a few days.
As the story gained national attention, it was thought to be that Hamilton had been attacked by a 14-foot tiger shark. Even though the attack had changed her life dramatically. She remained focus and returned to surfing.
Recovery and Success
References
"Bethany Hamilton – Amputee Surfer | The Injury Cooperative". Theinjuryco-op.com. March 8, 2016