BETHANY HAMLITON LOVES JESUS (Book by Bethany - Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board)
In the midst of all the negative headlines, some positive news for 2004 shone through. Bethany Hamilton lost an arm, but she never lost her heart. In a triumph over adversity, the brave Hawaiian girl whose arm was bitten off by a shark at the end of 2003 got back up on her surfboard to ride the waves at the start of this year. Bethany Hamilton, 13, surfed in a competition in Hawaii in January only 10 weeks after losing her left arm in the shark attack. She placed fifth in her age group in a National Scholastic Surfing Association meet. In the competition, Bethany caught a 6-foot-wave, using her left foot to help her propel the board. Bethany made headlines after she was attacked on Oct. 31, 2003, as she lay on her surfboard in the waters off Kauai's North Shore. Her left arm was dangling in the water when the fish, possibly a tiger shark, bit her below the shoulder and then disappeared. She had surgery to amputate her arm and repair the wound, and was back in the water by Thanksgiving Day of 2003. Bethany is a Christian and credits the Lord with her success!