Lynden file Block 1 The hardships of Bethany Hamilton Have you ever wondered how Bethany Hamilton coped with the loss of her arm? Well, in this essay I’ll be talking about how she dealt with the attack and her story. Bethany was born in Lihue, Hawaii on February 8th 1990 to her parents Tom and Cheri. She has two older brothers, Timothy and Noah. Hamilton learned to surf at only 3 years old and began competitive surfing at age 8, and got her first sponsorship at 10. Bethany was also homeschooled from 6th grade through high school. Bethany Hamilton, at only 13 years old, had her arm ripped off by a 14 foot tiger shark. She was rushed to hospital but had already lost 60% of her blood. Later a family of fishermen caught a 14 foot tiger shark, …show more content…
After the incident, she was determined to keep surfing, and did a month later. Bethany had a custom made board that was slightly thicker and had a handle for her right arm, making it easier to paddle. Once she had taught herself to surf with one arm, she returned to surfing just 26 days after the attack, and entered her first major competition since the loss on January 10, 2004. “During that time, I could have been very angry, down and depressed about everything," Hamilton said in an interview with Sky Sports. “I was in a place where the world was my oyster and then I felt like all of that had been flipped upside down and taken away from me... my arm was gone. It was heavy and it was overwhelming.” “At the same time, there was a sense of peace that I had. I trusted that God had my life in his hands and on top of that, I was just grateful to be alive.” Bethany had the opportunity to meet Mike Coots, a fellow survivor who had his leg bit off by a shark. He told Bethany of his story and how he had recovered, and Hamilton said it was like a lightbulb switched on in her head. Once that lightbulb was on, it took her only 3 months after the attack to go into her first compilation. Since the attack, Bethany has been