The mother of a teenage victim of the double shark attack in Florida is sharing an update on her daughter after having surgery on her injuries following the incident.
In a blog post published on Monday, June 10, Ann Blair Gribbin confirmed that her daughter Lulu Gribbin is "alert" and "chatting" after having surgery on the amputations of her left hand and part of her right leg caused by the shark attack at Seacrest Beach, Fla., on Friday, June 7.
"What I have witnessed is that Lulu is here. Nothing about her personality or funny, smart loving self has changed one bit," Ann shared on Caring Bridge. She may have lost her hand and her leg, but she is here, and we are truly grateful for that."
Ann said that Lulu had "the first of many" surgeries "to clean out the wounds" and "close up the amputations," adding that Lulu "did well" in the process. She said the doctors were also looking for shark teeth and that Lulu told her she "wanted them" if found.
Ann shared how she and her husband were "amazed" at their daughter's "level of alertness." She also revealed that the family met the two men who saved Lulu's life by pulling the shark off her and bringing her to shore.
"It was great to express to both of them how eternally grateful we are for being so brave to go into waters with a shark to save our sweet girl," she wrote of the meeting. "Lulu was able to tell them, 'Thank you for saving my life.' Lulu is here!"
Lulu had "another big milestone" as the doctors removed her central line, which was placed below her right shoulder and connected "internally to her heart," where the medicine was fed through. Ann shared that Lulu "wants to be a doctor" and asked to watch the lines being taken out.
Ann added that Lulu is transitioning off a "clear" diet. "Today she had some apple sauce, Jello, Gatorade and the best bomb pop she has ever had!!"
Lulu was one of three victims attacked by a shark on two Florida beaches on June 7. Lulu and the second teenage girl she was with were attacked just before 3:00 p.m. local time at Sea -
crest Beach. A 45-year-old woman was also attacked around her midsection and pelvis as she swam by the first sandbar at Watersound Beach, Fla., at around 1:20 p.m., per ABC News and WBRC.
Ann explained in her first blog post about her daughter's condition after the attack on June 9, that she, Lulu and her twin sister Ellie had traveled to the beach from Birmingham, Ala., earlier last week in their “first mother-daughter trip” alongside “some of their friends and their moms.”
On June 7, Ann said she and the group headed "outside Rosemary Beach for lunch," after which they noticed "the girls and everyone on the beach was standing looking out into the water." Moments later, Ann recalled seeing the "lifeless" body of Lulu on the beach.
“I came up on a group of people surrounding someone on the ground and looked down and it was Lulu who was there. Ellie found me and said, ‘Mom it's Lulu.’ I saw her wounds on her leg and started to scream. She was lifeless her eyes closed mouth white and pale,” she wrote. “The wound on her leg, or all that was left of her leg, was something out of a movie.”
Lulu was then airlifted to Sacred Heart in Pensacola, Fla., to undergo surgery as a result of the shark having “bit her hand and then her leg” in the attack, before biting one of her friend’s feet.
On Saturday, June 8, Ann revealed that Lulu began "breathing on her own" and woke up that day, saying her first words, “ 'I made it.’ ”
Despite the “terrible accident,” Ann said that she believes “God was there and had the people there” to help save her daughter’s life. “She is truly a miracle,” the mother said of her daughter. “We have a long road ahead and our journey is just beginning!”
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CNN previously reported that the South Walton Fire District (SWFD) beach safety director David Vaughn said it's possible the same shark was involved in both attacks.
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