For the first time since surviving a devastating shark attack last summer, Lulu Gribbin stood before a crowd at the Monday Morning Quarterback Club Luncheon, sharing her harrowing journey and newfound mission to help amputees. Addressing an audience that included media outlets, donors, and fellow survivors, the 16-year-old Mountain Brook High School student spoke with unwavering strength about the day that changed her life—and how she’s determined to turn tragedy into hope.
ABC 33/40 shared this video of the luncheon on YouTube.
Gribbin recounted the terrifying moments of June 7, 2024, when a shark attacked her while she and her friends were diving for sand dollars off the coast of Florida.
“Imagine looking down at your hand, and there’s nothing there—just flesh and bone,” she told the silent room.
The shark severed her left hand before latching onto her leg, leading to a partial leg amputation from the knee to the hip. She was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, where she spent the next three months undergoing intensive surgeries and rehabilitation.
Her first words after doctors removed her breathing tube would become a mantra for her recovery: “I made it.”
Gribbin’s journey since that day has been anything but easy, but she has tackled it with determination. She recently earned her driver’s license after completing an adaptive driving course and is learning to run again with the help of a new prosthetic running blade.
Standing beside her were her twin sister, Ellie Gribbin, and her best friend, McCray Faust, who was also injured in the attack. Faust, 17, sustained severe injuries to her lower leg and foot when the shark severed ligaments and nerves. She, too, has worked tirelessly to regain her mobility.
Instead of dwelling on what she lost, Gribbin has focused on what she can give. She used her keynote speech to announce the launch of the Lulu Strong Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting amputees by advancing prosthetic technology and innovative therapies.
“Through my foundation, I would love for kids to experience what I’ve experienced—to have an amazing life as an amputee,” she shared.
Gribbin is also fighting to make prosthetics more accessible, lightweight, and available faster for those in need. She pointed out that more than 500,000 people lose a limb every year—enough to fill over five Bryant-Denny Stadiums—and believes change is possible.
Gribbin’s impact is already being felt beyond the amputee community. She revealed that Lulu’s Law—a proposed bill named in her honor—has been introduced in the Senate. If passed, the legislation would make shark attacks eligible for wireless emergency alerts, helping protect future beachgoers.
This comes after it was discovered that another shark attack had occurred just 90 minutes before Gribbin and Faust were bitten, only a few miles away. She hopes the bill will prevent similar tragedies.
Through it all, Gribbin has remained grounded in her faith.
“I’m just grateful to be here and that the Lord has blessed me with everything that I have—that I’m still alive and breathing,” she said.
Sherri Blevins is a writer for Mountain Valley News and a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].
