WALTON COUNTY, Florida — A beautiful day at the beach took a terrifying turn on 30A after three people were attacked by sharks last week.
While a 45-year-old woman and two teenagers are both in the hospital recovering on Monday, many people say they’re only alive because of the quick actions of three men on the beach that day, who also saved a young girl who was attacked.
Ann Blair Gribbin, the mother of one of the girls injured in the attack, posted on CaringBridge.org expressing her gratitude for the bravery and courage of the people who stepped up to help during the panic.
"I am eternally grateful for the three surgeons and all the nursing staff and doctors here at this hospital who saved Lulu. I am grateful for the doctors and nurses on the beach that day," said Ann Blair Gribbin.
The mother described the moments when her daughter was pulled from the ocean and the moment bystanders swooped into action.
"These individuals put tourniquets on Lulu's wounds. Which I believe was crucial to saving Lulu's life. She was then taken by the beach truck and airlifted to Sacred Heart in Pensacola, where we are now," Gribbin wrote in the post.
Deputies and lifeguards responded to Watersound Beach along State Road 30A near Rosemary Beach last Friday after they heard multiple reports of a woman who had been injured in a shark attack around 1:20 p.m. Fire officials said she was swimming just past the first sand bar with her husband when she was attacked by a shark.
Matthew Lidle was on the beach with his family and saw blood in the water.
His wife, Rachel, shared that he ran into the waves and pulled out a young girl who suffered a shark bite to her hand.
First responders say the girl later lost her hand in the hospital but likely only survived the attack because of the quick thinking of people on the beach who pulled her out of the water.
Two doctors were also on the beach that day and ran towards the attack.
Orange Beach Family Medicine Dr. Richard Forbess and Dr. Moh Ali said they were also at the beach with their family and friends when they heard people yelling, “Shark!”
They jumped into action to stop the bleeding, along with two nurses who were also at the beach and the firefighters and EMTs who responded to the scene.
"At this point, we will have multiple surgeries in the days to come, and our lives will be forever changed. Lulu is strong, beautiful, brave and so many more things I can't count. God has a plan for her, and we will be there to support her every way we can," Gribbin wrote in her post.
You can read Gribbin's full message online here.