Addison’s Amazing Year After Surviving Shark Attack

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Addison Bethea’s encounter with the shark that nearly took her life will forever be imprinted in her memory. But nothing will leave the same impression as the year that followed.

In June 2022, she went on a scalloping trip with friends about 3 miles off the shore of Keaton Beach, a crook of land that juts into the Gulf of Mexico. Addison, then 17 years old, was attacked by what she believes was a 9-foot bull shark and needed an amputation. She was flown by UF Health ShandsCair to a local trauma center.

For someone who has had to adjust to a prosthetic leg, she’s barely lost a step.

“I’m doing really well,” Addison said. “Rehab lasted from the second day of my amputation surgery to about a week after I got home. I learned pretty fast how to do things in the rehab way, and they decided I didn’t need to do any more physical therapy.”

The truth is, losing a right leg doesn’t quite compare with what’s happened since. Addison has become an inspiration to countless people as her story gained national attention. Academically, she resumed cheerleading at Taylor County High School, walked across the football field as part of homecoming court and completed her senior year. Spiritually, she developed a strong connection with God. Oh, and she learned that she’ll be a mother in December.

“This past year, I went from almost losing my life to completely changing it for the better,” Addison said. “My faith in God got so much stronger as well as my relationship with Him. I learned that maybe (the attack) was my own way to let people know God better and trust in Him completely after seeing what I went through. As well as completing my senior year, I’m now expecting my first child with my high school sweetheart, and it’s definitely scary and unexpected, but I couldn’t be any more excited to meet our baby girl.”

The Perry native is grateful to have the chance to be a mom, which is why she still maintains a strong relationship with ShandsCair and the flight crew that saved her life. Since Addison was mostly in and out of consciousness during the emergency flight, ShandsCair personnel filled her in on what transpired in one of her later visits with the team.

“The flight medics showed me the helicopter I was in after my attack, and goodness it was small,” Addison said. “Especially with my leg’s damage and the way I had to lay in the helicopter, I couldn't imagine how difficult it would've been to try and help stabilize me on the way to the hospital. They informed me that I started waking up, which was completely unusual for the state I was in.

“They said they asked for my name, and I do remember saying, ‘I’m Addison Bethea. I’m 17 years old,’ said Addison, now 18. “That was preceded by them asking, ‘I know this is a stupid question, but are you in any pain?’ I answered yes. Everyone’s piece-by-piece account of the story is crazy to me and makes my whole attack scenario very interesting. I am forever blessed to be alive today and be able to share my story, not only to show others what I went through but to educate others about situations like mine.”

And that’s exactly what Addison has done in collaboration with ShandsCair. She and the medical air rescue wing of UF Health have joined forces to deliver presentations with the goal of spreading key information about rescues like hers, which could have been disastrous if UF Health ShandsCair’s flight crew hadn’t arrived when they did.

“The ShandsCair flight crew made me understand just exactly what condition I was in and how it was so necessary that they were there to help me out,” Addison said.

Her rescue provided a teaching point in how quickly to intubate a badly wounded patient. In Addison’s case, she had lost so much blood that it made more sense to resuscitate her first and then insert the breathing tube.

Addison’s story was recently featured July 26 during Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week event, with Addison’s encounter spurring an experiment performed on an episode called “Florida Shark: Blood in the Water.” Because Addison was scalloping at the time of the incident and some scallops were being thrown right back into the water, it’s speculated that the smell of bait was present during the attack. To see if bull sharks confuse their natural prey with unnatural prey, experts dangled both a real and fake barracuda while observing several bull sharks.

As it turns out, the bull sharks went after the fake one first and were more attracted to it overall, showing how especially dangerous it is to be near those aggressive predators when natural prey is also around.

While the harrowing event altered Addison’s life, she’s made peace with it. In July 2023, Addison revisited the spot where the attack occurred and even went for a swim there with her brother and boyfriend.

And while the expectant mom prepares for her family to grow, in a way, she feels like it already has.

“The most unique experiences I've had with people reaching out to me is the prosthetic community,” Addison said. “Everyone is so understanding, and it’s honestly like a family. At first, I was overwhelmed, but then talking about it with friends I made along the way made my experiences so much better and less frustrating, to know I was not alone.”