Elise Mitchell, Sophomore
According to CNN, on Sunday, June 2nd, in North Carolina, an unsuspecting 17-year-old girl was attacked and bitten by a shark, leaving her in critical conditions before help arrived.
Just 20 minutes past noon, at the Fort Macon State Park near Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, a teenage girl and her father stood in waist-deep water off the coast. Without warning, a shark took hold of the girl’s leg and pulled her under. Her father immediately lept into action and punched the shark in the face five times, until the shark had released the girl. The girl was airlifted to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville where she was identified as Paige Winter, her father being Charlie Winter, a local paramedic. In the hospital report, it was stated that Paige suffered "deep lacerations to her leg, pelvic and hand areas." According to Eric Toschlog, Chief of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery at Vidant Medical Center, due to her detrimental injuries, Paige had to have her left leg amputated just above the knee and she will need surgery on her severely damaged hands.
Despite what has happened to her, Paige has remained positive, evening releasing a statement saying, "Although I have extensive injuries, including an amputated leg and damage to my hands, I will be okay." In the post, she thanked the medical staff at Vidant Medical Center for the care that she was receiving and briefly mentioned the fact that she would need additional surgeries in the future. Her parents called her a fighter, saying that “her courageous spirit continues to be a beacon of light for all of us.” Her family has made multiple posts about how thankful they were that Paige was alive and well, currently resting in her hospital room and receiving all of the love and support that is pouring in from all around the country. A GoFundMe was started as a way to help the Winters pay for her medical bills and in the description, she is described as a fighter and her father was hailed as a brave hero.
Along with keeping up with a positive attitude towards her situation, Paige also has remained faithful to her love of marine life and marine animal safety. She has always been an advocate for the safety of those who live in the ocean and she has used this moment in the media as an opportunity to spread awareness about being respectful to sharks and their environment. In the meantime, The beach at Fort Macon State Park was shut down as protocol, and people try to understand the sudden rise in shark attacks and great white shark siting.
Comments