Soul Surfer - Bethany Hamilton

I was welcomed back to my home with Aloha. The community was so uplifting. People even raised money for our family and they donated $75,000 it was crazy. The world was sending me get well wishes. I found out that there were so many people who were dealing with situations just like me. It felt like the whole world start to know who I was. I was being starred on many different shows all around the nation. I miss home. I was so stoked when I was able to be on Oprah’s show it was a huge deal. I know that God put me in this position for a reason. Finally, I was back home and able to go on my first surf. 

It came time for me to have surgery. I was very lucky, the doctor who was doing the surgery happened to have handled the foot amputation for a bodyboarder who was attacked by a tiger shark. The surgery had finished and all I wanted to do was get some sleep. I was thankful for all the people who had come to support me. A lot of people had sorrowful faces. I put on a brave face for everyone. I would have to have another surgery and all I wanted to do was get back in the water. I continued to heal in the hospital. I was told that I would be released early and I was super stoked. Then I found out that there was too much media at my house so we had to go to a friend's house. I believe in God and I know that is the reason I was able to get through this.

We surfed for about a half an hour, the waves were nothing spectacular. My left hand was dangling in the water and I saw a gray blurr. Surprisingly I didn’t even scream when it originally bit me. There was no pain at the time. According to Alana I calmly yelled I just got bit by a shark. They got to me quickly and started taking me to the beach. I was praying to God. Finally, we got to the land. I was cold and I started to feel pain. All I wanted was my mom. A professional was on the scene and he wrapped me up. I remember a dog getting through the crowd and licking me. The ambulance took forever, so they lifted me into the truck. Finally, I heard sirens and I remember being put into the ambulance. The next few hours were dark hours, all the news was broke to my family.

My mom and I woke up really early at 5 a.m. to go surf. I grabbed my board and swimsuit and hopped in our “surf beater.” We went to check the waves but there wasn’t much out there. My friend Alana showed up and we both decided to go out anyways.