(NewsNation) — A 17-year-old girl from Florida is recovering after being attacked by a shark several times while scalloping in water about five feet deep, the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office said.
Addison Bethea was bitten by a nine-foot-long shark, the type of which is still undetermined, on Thursday the sheriff’s office said.
The teen tried poking the shark in the eyes and punching it, but the animal would not turn loose, Bethea’s family wrote on Facebook.
Bethea’s brother, Rhett Willingham, who is a firefighter and emergency medical technician, jumped in the water and fought the shark off, the family said, and then pulled her into the nearby boat of an unknown person.
Willingham and the boaters worked together to tie a tourniquet to control the bleeding until Addison was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, the hospital said.
Bethea suffered damage to the soft tissue in her right leg, and has already undergone one emergency surgery to restore blood flow to it. She will have another surgery to see the extent of the damage on Saturday.
“Addison has a long journey to recovery, but she was in good spirits today, surrounded by her family in Tallahassee Memorial’s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,” Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare said.
Bethea’s family said when she woke up after being sedated, the 17-year-old was communicating with them by typing on the phone and cracking jokes. The first thing she asked for was a Wendy’s frosty.
“She’s been through more than I could ever imagine but she is being a trouper. Please pray for her and the difficulty of her days ahead,” Shane Bethea wrote on Facebook. “She isn’t out of the woods by any stretch, but she is alive and that’s what’s most important to us.”
Researchers with the International Shark Attack File recorded 73 unprovoked incidents last year, compared to 52 bites in 2020, according to a new report.
But although shark attacks increased around the world in 2021 after declining for three consecutive years, beach closures in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could be making the numbers seem more dramatic.
Florida, where Bethea was attacked, has led the U.S. and the rest of the world in unprovoked shark bites for decades.
The Taylor County Sheriff’s Office warned people to be alert, vigilant, and practice shark safety.
“Some rules to follow are: never swim alone, do not enter the water near fishermen, avoid areas such as sandbars (where sharks like to congregate), do not swim near large schools of fish, and avoid erratic movements while in the water,” the office said.