Surfing is a pleasurable activity, until a major incident takes away your inspiration to surf anymore. Same is the story of a surfer Bethany Hamilton who faced a major incident while surfing, however, unlike so many other victims, this was just a start to her new life. Hers is the perfect story of teenage inspirational tragedy. She was an excellent surfer and with this, she has also starred in 14 movies. Most people don’t have any idea about her surfing caliber. They are aware of her story but have never gone into the greater depth of the story.
This inspirational woman after suffering from a major shark accident while surfing where she lost her arm shared about her journey. After 20 years of facing the incident, the surfer has shared her insights about her tough yet beautiful journey on social media. Inspirational stories like these are what the surfing community embraces and passion and hard work like her is meant to be embraced.
Bethany Hamilton shares her inspirational journey after major surfing accident
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The ideal example of a strong person is the surfer Bethany Hamilton who has seen her life turning upside down after a major injury. However, she never backed off from doing what she loved the most. In October 2003, Hamilton faced the worst day of her life when she was out surfing at Tunnels Beach on Kauai and met a shark attack. In this unfortunate incident, she survived but lost her left arm. October 2023 marks 20 years of this horrific accident, and Hamilton, now a parent to three children, shared an inspirational yet emotional post on her social media.
View this post on Instagram
She posted a video of her holding her newborn daughter standing near a river on her Instagram handle. The caption that the post carried was enough to tell her entire journey and make anyone who confronts it emotional. The caption on the video stated, “I lost my arm in a shark attack 20 years ago, but it never held me back from living my dreams.”?She expressed that this incident was one of the most impactful moments of her life when she lost her arm to a shark in her birthplace in Kauai.
She continued, “Many people could look at the incident back in 2003 as a major setback for me, but God has so much in store for the future.”?She did not just get back on her feet one day, she tried her best every day with every inch of motivation she had in her. Now 20 years later, she surfs with both her sons Tobias and Wesley, and her husband.
She still finds so many moments that she is grateful for. Giving inspiration to others, she further stated, “When you have your ‘Shark Attack’ moments in life. I hope you are willing to try, and give life your best shot!”?After the incident she has come a long way and has become an inspiration for others as well.
California Surf Museum embraces the surfer’s inspirational story?
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The story of Bethany Hamilton has been an inspiration of many and CSM has made sure that everyone is aware of her story. They exhibit her story by displaying the belongings from her accident. This exhibit portrays the entire story of the accident, they feature the surfboard Bethany was riding on that fateful Halloween day in 2003. With this, they also exhibit the bathing suit that she was wearing, the documentary Heart of a Soul Surfer, and multiple pictures and parts of newspaper.
After the attack, it would take a lot of inspiration to get back to surfing. Bethany after getting treated took just three weeks to get back to surfing after the attack. She did not just return to surfing, but also participated in multiple surfing competitions and still does well in surfing contests globally. With surfing on big waves today, she is also a motivational speaker. A case like this with utter inspiration is seldom seen.
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