The Colorado teenager who misplaced her proper leg after she was bitten by a shark whereas on a diving journey in Belize says she’s “fortunate” to be alive following a painstaking restoration — and but she’s nonetheless decided to return to the ocean.
Annabelle Carlson, 15, was attacked by two sharks on Aug. 6 whereas on a household diving journey off the coast of Belize, leading to harm to her palms and the lack of her leg.
What adopted was 4 months of restoration, seven surgical procedures, a bacterial an infection and being outfitted with a prosthetic leg.
But Carlson is just grateful for her journey.
“I’d say 4 months in the past being within the hospital, I didn’t know the place I used to be going to be now. But I’m positively pleased with the place I’m. And I’m so proud of how my life goes and the way I’m alive proper now,” she advised NBC’s Morgan Chesky.
“Your actually begin to understand how fortunate you’re if you undergo one thing like this,” she added.
The assault
The assault unfolded as Carlson and her household — all avid divers — had been on the Lighthouse Reef atoll within the Caribbean Sea.
An skilled diver with about 20 dives beneath her belt during the last three years, Carlson mentioned she was used to seeing sharks underwater.
After about 40 minutes of diving, on the way in which again to the floor she seen the sharks adopted her dive group up a bit, which was uncommon.
After the dive she and her siblings wished to leap off the boat for a swim within the water. She went first.
“The second I hit the water — a shark nearly — prefer it got here from beneath the boat. I used to be dealing with the boat at this level. It began attacking my palms,” she recalled.
“It’s biting my palms. And it’s sort of bizarre so I sort of simply begin hitting it to attempt to hit it off me,” she mentioned.
Her mom, Kellie Carlson, instantly seen
“I used to be proper there as a result of I used to be getting my cellphone to take an image of them leaping off. The minute she hit the water, the shark attacked her and I’m screaming yelling, ‘Somebody assist. Help her!’” her mom mentioned.
Two individuals within the dive group threw a life ring however “at that time her palms had been fairly tousled,” Kellie mentioned.
“As they’re pulling me in there’s a second shark that does chew my proper leg,” Annabelle recalled.
The teen mentioned the ordeal felt prefer it stretched “a very very long time,” however in actuality lasted about 30 seconds.
“It’s nearly a sense of being helpless,” she defined. “It was onerous. It was scary.”
“It was utterly painless. It felt like a tugging feeling, which was bizarre. It felt like I used to be taking part in tug of battle a little bit bit … My adrenaline was a lot to the purpose the place, like, I didn’t even really feel the second shark assault my leg,” she added.
People on the boat began throwing scuba tanks within the water to distract the sharks.
Finally, she was pulled onto the boat.
“As quickly as they pulled her up, I knew proper then and there I used to be going to must do every little thing I might to avoid wasting her life. Because principally her leg was lacking from her knee to her ankle,” Kellie Carlson mentioned. “All the smooth tissue from her knee to her ankle was gone, and it was simply her tibia and fibula.”
Good Samaritans on the boat, who the household described as “guardian angels,” tied a shirt round Carlson’s leg as a tourniquet to cease the bleeding and so they braced for the hour-long boat journey to a Coast Guard outpost for assist.
She recalled “screaming due to the tourniquet ache. It actually damage.”
Kellie Carlson mentioned her motherly intuition kicked in to do every little thing she might to avoid wasting her daughter’s life.
“When the shark assault occurred, I used to be simply in shock. And the primary 24 hours I used to be in survival mode and attempting to avoid wasting her and ensuring that every little thing was arrange in order that she was going to stay,” she mentioned.
Once the boat arrived to the Coast Guard publish, the helicopter they had been hoping for wasn’t there. It finally arrived, however two agonizing hours glided by from the time of the chew to arriving on the hospital in Belize City.
“I wasn’t certain she was going to make it trigger she was sheet white,” Kellie mentioned.
Seven surgical procedures and combating a bacterial an infection
Annabelle underwent an preliminary surgical procedure that amputated her leg.
“When I wakened from surgical procedure…. My mother needed to inform me that I didn’t have my leg anymore … On the boat, like I had this sense of like I didn’t know if … I used to be going to be there or not,” Annabelle mentioned.
About three and half weeks after leaving Belize, the household went to Miami the place Annabelle had a further surgical procedure to revise her amputation so it might be higher suited to a prosthetic, and extra surgical procedure on her palms to restore some nerves and tendon harm.
In complete, she’s undergone seven surgical procedures.
After retuning to Colorado from Miami, Annabelle developed an abscess on her leg that ended up being an an infection from a slow-growing micro-bacteria that she’s now combating.
“She’s combating it and we’re hopeful. All indicators are pointing to good issues,” her mom mentioned. “We’ve discovered that shark assaults are uncommon, and bacterial infections are much more uncommon. I’m actually pleased with her for the place she’s at proper now.”
Despite all she’s endured, the teenager says she wakes up every single day with a optimistic spirit.
“But I get up every single day feeling grateful, simply because, I imply, I’m right here, and I’m in a position to stroll once more, I’m so fortunate to have the ability to achieve this,” Annabelle mentioned. “I believe this case simply actually goes to indicate that there’s gentle on the finish of the tunnel. Because I do have my prosthetic now. I’d say I’m thriving, proper?”
The younger athlete says her harm will not maintain her again as she’s decided to proceed taking part in sports activities.
“I’m planning (on) taking part in lacrosse and utilizing my prosthetic to ski, hopefully,” she mentioned.
And the assault has left no worry of the ocean’s depths.
“Hopefully (I’m) getting again into the ocean as quickly as potential, too,” Annabelle mentioned.
