A Colorado teenager who lost her leg in a shark attack on a diving trip in Belize says she is “lucky” to be alive

The Colorado teenager who lost her right leg after being bitten by a shark during a diving trip in Belize says she’s “lucky” to be alive after a arduous recovery – and she’s still determined to get back into the world return to the sea.

Annabelle Carlson, 15, was attacked by two sharks during a family diving trip off the coast of Belize on August 6, resulting in injuries to her hands and the loss of her leg.

This was followed by four months of recovery, seven operations, a bacterial infection and the fitting of a prosthetic leg.

But Carlson is nothing but grateful for her journey.

“I would say when I was in the hospital four months ago I didn’t know where I would be now. But I’m definitely proud of where I am. And I’m so happy with how my life is going and how I’m alive now,” she told NBC’s Morgan Chesky.

“You only really realize how lucky you are when you go through something like this,” she added.

The attack

The attack occurred while Carlson and her family – all avid divers – were at Lighthouse Reef Atoll in the Caribbean.

An experienced diver with about 20 dives in the past three years, Carlson said she is used to seeing sharks underwater.

After about 40 minutes of diving, on the way back to the surface, she noticed that the sharks were following her diving group up a bit, which was unusual.

After the dive, she and her siblings wanted to jump off the boat to swim in the water. She went first.

“When I hit the water it was almost like a shark came out from under the boat. At this point I was standing in front of the boat. It started attacking my hands,” she recalls.

“It bites my hands. And it’s kind of weird, so I just start trying to get it out of myself,” she said.

Her mother, Kellie Carlson, noticed immediately

“I was right there because I wanted to take a photo of them jumping off with my phone. The moment she hit the water, the shark attacked her and I yelled, ‘Someone help me. Help her!'” her mother said.

Two people in the dive group threw a life preserver, but “at that point their hands were pretty messed up,” Kellie said.

“As they were pulling me in, a second shark actually bit my right leg,” Annabelle remembers.

The teenager said the ordeal felt “very long” but actually lasted about 30 seconds.

“It’s almost a feeling of helplessness,” she explained. “It was difficult. It was scary.”

“It was completely painless. It felt like a pulling sensation, which was strange. It felt like I was playing a bit of tug-of-war… My adrenaline was so high that I didn’t even feel the second shark attack my leg,” she added.

The people on the boat began throwing scuba tanks into the water to distract the sharks.

Finally she was pulled onto the boat.

“When they pulled her up, I knew immediately that I had to do everything I could to save her life. Because basically she was missing a leg from her knee to her ankle,” Kellie Carlson said. “All of the soft tissue from her knee to her ankle was gone, leaving only her tibia and fibula.”

The good Samaritans on the boat, whom the family called “guardian angels,” tied a shirt around Carlson’s leg as a tourniquet to stop the bleeding and prepared for the hour-long boat ride to a Coast Guard outpost to get help.

She remembered “screaming because of the tourniquet.” It really hurt.”

Kellie Carlson said her maternal instinct began to do whatever she could to save her daughter’s life.

“When the shark attack happened I was just shocked. And for the first 24 hours I was in survival mode, trying to save her and make sure everything was prepared so that she would survive,” she said.

When the boat arrived at the Coast Guard post, the helicopter they had hoped for was not there. It finally arrived, but from the time of the bite to the time it arrived at the hospital in Belize City, two agonizing hours passed.

“I wasn’t sure if she would make it because she was completely white,” Kellie said.

Seven operations and the fight against a bacterial infection

Annabelle underwent her first operation, during which her leg was amputated.

“When I woke up after the surgery… my mom had to tell me that I didn’t have my leg anymore… On the boat I felt like I didn’t know if… I was going to be there or not,” Annabelle said.

About three and a half weeks after leaving Belize, the family traveled to Miami, where Annabelle underwent further surgery to correct her amputation so that she would be better suited for a prosthesis, and further surgery on her hands to repair some nerve problems. and repair tendon damage.

She was operated on a total of seven times.

After returning to Colorado from Miami, Annabelle developed an abscess on her leg, which was ultimately due to an infection from slow-growing microbacteria that she is now battling.

“She is fighting it and we are hopeful. All signs point to good things,” her mother said. “We learned that shark attacks are rare and bacterial infections are even rarer. I’m really proud of her the way she is right now.”

Despite everything she’s been through, the teenager says she wakes up every day with a positive mood.

“But I wake up every day with a feeling of gratitude just because I’m here and I can walk again, I’m so happy to be able to do this,” Annabelle said. “I think this situation really shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Because I have my prosthesis now. I’d say I’m fine, right?”

The young athlete says her injury won’t hold her back and she is determined to continue playing sports.

“I plan on playing lacrosse and hopefully skiing with my prosthesis,” she said.

And the attack left no fear of the ocean depths.

“Hopefully I can get back into the sea as soon as possible,” said Annabelle.