By The opinion
06 Jul 2024, 13:22 PM EDT
What was supposed to be a day of national celebration turned into a nightmare straight out of a horror movie when a shark attacked swimmers on South Padre Island in Texas. The main victim of the attack spoke from the hospital and told what happenedand was also grateful for being alive.
Tabatha Sullivan She was with her husband Cary and her daughters celebrating the 4th of July, as well as the 15th birthday of the youngest of the girls. The happiness was doubled, but right on Independence Day, while they were swimming in the sea, a shark began to attack people. She was the most affected, as she lost her calf.
Despite this, the mother and wife is grateful: “I lost my calf… but I am alive,” she said in a fundraiser opened on the GoFundMe platform. She also said that she was grateful that it was her (the one attacked) and not one of the children she was swimming with in the sea.
TONIGHT on @FOX4 at 9 & 10: Tabatha and Cary Sullivent of Celina, TX are recovering from a shark attack in South Padre Island.
The city says the shark injured 4 people on July Fourth.
Tabatha tells me the shark followed her into shallow water – and her husband fought it off. pic.twitter.com/GN1Fg5jvGy
— Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) July 6, 2024
This is how he experienced the shark attack
Tabatha recounted part of the nightmare she experienced that day. The events described seem like a scene from one of the many films that have been made about shark attacks, one of the greatest fears of many people.
He said that after the attack he swam as close to the beach as possible. “The shark kept chasing me and Cary (her husband) hit it and probably stopped it from eating me.”The man also suffered minor injuries while defending his wife from the shark.
She told Fox that she and her husband swam to the shore, and once there, bathers ran to help them, as seen in some of the videos shared on social media.
“My leg is pretty much gone.”
Tabatha and Cary Sullivent of Celina, TX were two of the four people attacked by a shark Thursday in South Padre Island.
Cary has minor injuries. Meanwhile, the shark bit off Tabatha’s left calf.
We spoke to them from their hospital room. @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/3diMsJaX5q
— Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) July 6, 2024
He elaborated on the physical repercussions: “I lost my left calf. I have movement in my toes and circulation in my foot. I probably won’t have full mobility when they ‘recompose’ me (the doctors) and I won’t have the same leg I had before“.
Despite this, the woman is grateful to be alive and that her children were not hurt. So far, her friends and community have shown an outpouring of support for the family, raising more than $6,000 to help cover Tabatha’s medical costs.
A skin graft is expected to be placed on her leg in the coming days. Her daughter Skyler said doctors must continue to clean her mother’s wound, as As long as there is no infection there is hope of saving the limb..
The young woman also expressed her gratitude through social media for the displays of affection and concern she received regarding her mother’s health.
Keep reading:
– Authorities warn of shark attacks on Florida beaches.
– Shark bite on Southern California beach leaves swimmer injured.