The mother of a teenager who lost a hand and a leg following a shark attack gives an update on his progress.

The mother of a 15-year-old girl who lost a hand and a leg after one of the numerous shark attacks that hit the Florida Panhandle on Friday has provided an update on her daughter's injuries and progress, claiming that the girl continues to surprise her. parents with “his attitude, his strength, his humor and his understanding of what happened to him”.

Lulu Gribbin was searching for sand dollars with her twin sister, Ellie, and friends at Rosemary Beach when a shark snatched her hand and severely damaged her leg. Lulu was flown to a Pensacola hospital, where doctors had to amputate her leg “halfway from her knee to her hip” during surgery, Lulu's mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, wrote on CaringBridge.

Ann Blair wrote at the time that Lulu had to undergo several surgeries and that their lives would now be changed forever. And in her latest update Wednesday, the mother said she was in the back of an AirMed plane, en route to a specialist who is a “pioneer in the treatment of multi-extremity amputees.”

“We have made the decision, not lightly, to do the remainder of his surgeries and rehabilitation at another hospital,” the mother wrote. “We believe this will give Lulu the best opportunity to live [as] normal life possible with two prostheses. Medically, this is the best option for Lulu and it's another step in this journey and path to recovery.”

Lulu's mother wrote that she felt “extreme sadness” to have left the place that kept her daughter alive and thanked staff for all their work. She also said that among all her current emotions, Lulu told a child life specialist that she felt most grateful, which her mother echoed.

“As I sit here in the back of this plane, I look at Lulu as she sleeps, and her chest rises and falls, in and out,” wrote Ann Blair. “I smile at her, overcome with a feeling of happiness and gratitude. She is alive and breathing.”

On CaringBridge on Tuesday, Ellie described the attack – which happened during a mother-daughter trip with a group of their friends and their mothers – from her perspective.

Ellie said she and her twin were swimming looking for more sand dollars when her friend yelled that there was a shark. She said she and another friend “started swimming for our lives” and that when she finally looked back, “the whole ocean was red.”

Lulu's twin said she ran to her sister after a man carried her out of the water, and when her mother – who had just returned from lunch at the beach – arrived, the girl 15-year-old said she remained strong during the three months. while doctors attached a tourniquet to Lulu's leg.

“I hugged her and let her cry on my shoulders while the doctors on the beach stopped the blood flow to her leg and arm,” Ellie wrote. “It was very difficult for me to stay strong, but I went into survival mode. I had to survive so my mom and Lulu could do it. I knew the pain Lulu was going through and I knew mom had no one anyone else to comfort her besides myself, so I stayed strong for both of them.”

Lulu was one of three people injured by shark attacks in the area Friday afternoon, leading Walton County to temporarily close its beaches. The first attack left a 45-year-old woman in Watersound without her left arm. Lulu and the third victim – a 17-year-old girl who was traveling with the Gribbins – were attacked approximately 90 minutes and four miles away. The third girl suffered bodily injuries to her right foot.

Since the attack, Ann Blair said her family and hospital staff have been amazed by Lulu's level of alertness, especially after multiple surgeries to stop the amputations and clean her wounds. And when the central line to her heart and those connected to her leg were removed, Lulu had a front-row seat to the actions she might take in her future.

“You probably don't know this, but Lulu wants to be a doctor. So when those lines were taken out, she asked if she could look. The nurses brought in a big mirror so she could see exactly what they were doing . and how it all worked out.

And despite the tragedy, Ellie and Ann Blair both said Lulu's determination hasn't changed.

“What I witnessed was Lulu being there,” Ann Blair wrote Monday. “Nothing about her personality or her funny, intelligent personality has changed in the slightest. She may have lost her hand and her leg, but she's here, and we're really grateful.”