A Mountain Brook teen attacked by a shark last Friday has begun the recovery process, her mother writes.
“Today is Sunday June 9, 2024 and I wanted to share Lulu Gribbin’s story so that everyone can continue to pray for this sweet and beautiful child of ours,” Ann Blair Gribbin posted on CaringBridge, a platform used to communicate health news to family and friends.
The post recounts Friday’s events, which occurred off the coast of Florida’s Seacrest Beach, and thanks the group of people that pulled Lulu out of the water.
“Lulu said a man grabbed her other arm and pulled her out and another younger boy helped him carry her to shore,” the post reads. “Once on the shore there were two doctors and two other young women, one of whom was a nurse, who were all surrounding Lulu. These individuals put tourniquets on Lulu’s wounds. Which I believe was crucial to saving Lulu’s life.”
RELATED: Shark attacks 3 off Florida panhandle waters
Local outlet WFLA interviewed Mohammad Ali and Ryan Forbess, vacationing doctors that were part of the group that attended to Gribbin on the beach.
“We might’ve as well worked with them for years,” Forbess said. “It was amazing. Kind of … it was God’s will that everyone was there to help at the same time.”
Gribbin was taken to Ascension Sacred Heart, a hospital in Pensacola, and was immediately rushed into surgery. Doctors informed her family that her left hand and half of her right leg would have to be amputated. They expected Gribbin to breathe through a tube for a week, but she was no longer intubated by the following afternoon.
“[The next day] Lulu did not have surgery like we expected and her vitals were exactly what the team of doctors and nurses wanted,” her mother wrote. “She did so well that they ended up taking the tube out of her throat and she was breathing on her own. This was a first big step.”
“Once she was settled her first words to us were ‘I made it.’ And boy she did.”
Ann Blair requests prayer for Lulu, the Gribbin family, and the girls that were in the water during the attack.
“Please continue to pray for Lulu,” the post reads. “Pray for her to have strength to get through whatever is coming her way. Pray for her healing to be fast and pain to be as minimal as possible.”
“I know this was a terrible accident, but God was there and had the people there who helped save her life. Lulu said she felt God in the back of the beach truck. She is truly a miracle. We have a long road ahead and our journey is just beginning!”
Charles Vaughan is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News.
