Bethany Hamilton

Bethany surfing after the attack in Hawaii. (coconutgirlwireless.com)

My hero is Bethany Hamilton. She is a professional surfer and is excellent at what she does. There is one thing about Bethany that makes her stand out more than others while on the board. She is missing her left arm from a shark attack that occurred when she was only 13. Here's the story:

Bethany was born on February 8, 1990 and has lived in Hawaii all her life. Both of her parents, Tom and Cheri Hamilton, were surfers who moved from the continental US to Hawaii for surfing opportunities. Bethany was taught how to surf by her parents and learned quickly. At the age of 7, she won first place in the "push and ride" division of a Quicksilver surfing contest. It was only a year later at age eight that she entered her first major surfing competition. It was the "Rell Sunn Menehune" contest on the island of Oahu at Makaka where girls competed ages seven to nine on longboard along with seven to nine on shortboard. Bethany took first place in both competitions. Her surfing skills progressed and at the age of nine, she began competing more seriously. She won more and more competitions as she grew up. Her dream was to become a professional surfer.

Bethany surfboard. (underwatertimes.com)

On October 31, 2003, Bethany went for a morning surf at Tunnels Beach, Kauai along with her friends Alana, Byron and Holt Blanchard. They had only been surfing for half an hour with hardly any waves when the shark attacked. Bethany was lying on her board looking out to sea when the fifteen foot tiger shark snuck up on her. Its razor sharp teeth sunk into her left arm cutting through the board and her bones like tissue paper. "It's funny, you would think having your arm bitten off would really hurt. But there was no pain at the time. I felt pressure and kind of a jiggle-jiggle tug, which I know now was the teeth," Bethany wrote in her book, Soul Surfer. "It was over in a few seconds. I remember seeing the water around me turn bright red with my blood. Then I saw that my arm had been bitten off almost to the shoulder. There was just a three- or four-inch stub where my limb had once been."

Bethany was rushed to the nearest hospital where she had immediate surgery on her amputated arm. She had lost nearly half of her blood volume, but was still going to live. After three weeks of recovering, Bethany was back on her board surfing again. At first it was pretty tough for Bethany, but she worked hard to make up for the loss of her arm and began competing again. She used her situation to show people that you can go on and do wonderful things in spite of terrible events that occur. In July 2004, she won the ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete of the Year and was presented with a special courage award at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards.

Bethany walking down the beach with her surfboard (Google Images)

Bethany Hamilton is a true hero because she showed courage and continued to chase her dreams despite the major setbacks. She has inspired millions with her positive attitude and strength to carry on. Not many people can stay optimistic about losing an arm like Bethany did, but she remained strong and kept her surfing career alive. "People can do whatever they want if they just set their heart to it, and just never give up, and just go out there and do it." - Bethany Hamilton