TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A 17-year-old Florida girl has already taken her first steps at the hospital after "a successful operation" to amputate part of her leg following a shark attack.
Addison Bethea was attacked by a 9-foot shark a week ago on Keaton Beach, about an hour and a half southeast of Tallahassee, according to the Taylor County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies say she was scalloping near Grassy Island in water about 5-feet deep when she was bitten. In a statement, the girl's family later said she was bitten twice, with the shark mainly attacking her right thigh.
"She tried poking it in the eyes and punching it but it would not turn loose," they wrote.
That's when a family member "reportedly jumped in the water and beat the shark until the juvenile was free," the sheriff's office wrote on Facebook.
This family member was Addison's brother Rhett, who is a first responder/firefighter. He reportedly fought off the shark and pulled his sister into a nearby boat.
"Rhett put a tourniquet on her leg to minimize blood loss to the massive injury and kept her awake, ultimately saving her life," the statement from the family read.
Addison was airlifted to Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare where she underwent two surgeries with the goal of saving her leg. Still, there was an "unreal amount of damage to her thigh area," the family said.
On Sunday, the hospital ultimately decided the teen would need to have part of her leg amputated due to the devastating loss of muscle and massive nerve damage.
After a few delays, "due to the fact it’s such a complex case," Addison underwent a successful operation on Wednesday to amputate her right leg just above the knee.
According to the hospital, the surgery will allow Addison to use a prosthesis for her lower leg.
“Saving the tissue of the lower leg was paramount in today’s surgery even being possible,” her dad, Shane Bethea, said to the hospital. “The surgeons and the medical staff can’t get enough praise from us for the wonderful care of our baby girl. We are so thankful that she ended up here at TMH.”
Addison's family said she is "remaining strong and upbeat" despite the long road to recovery ahead of her.
"It’s been less than 24 hours and she’s doing better then expected which is no longer surprising us because she’s Addison, she’s our little warrior!" her family wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
"She didn’t want to wear her hospital gown anymore so they allowed me to put an oversized t-shirt on her. She’s currently rocking out in a Rolling Stones t-shirt and feeling much more like her teenage self."
On Thursday, the family shared a video of Addison taking her first steps just one day after the surgery.
The family has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Addison's medical expenses.