Rescuer of Lulu Gribbin, a victim of a shark attack in Florida, honored in Alabama

When 15-year-old Lulu Gribbin was attacked by a shark while swimming with her sister and friends at Rosemary Beach, ultimately losing her left hand and right leg, she may have seemed unlucky. But there happened to be a small army of medical professionals on the beach that day.

One of them, Dr. Ryan Forbess, was honored Tuesday in his hometown of Orange Beach, Alabama, for his life-saving efforts. He and his friend, Dr. Mohammad Ali of Mississippi, were in the water with their children when the attack occurred on June 7, Forbess told WBRC.com. They reached shore, but both doctors immediately ran back when they saw blood in the water.

“My friend Dr. Ali and I vacation together every year at Rosemary Beach, so I was boogie boarding with my son, who was there with his daughter,” Forbess told WBRC.com. “Then all of a sudden we heard a lot of noise to our left while we were in the water. I thought it was probably a shark, but not necessarily a shark attack at that point.”

Forbess of Orange Beach Family Medicine and Ali, an interventional radiologist at Baptist Medical Group in Jackson, Mississippi, rushed back to help others get Gribbin to safety and treat her wounds.

“They pulled the girl to the beach and then we were able to start to stop the bleeding and we were able to put tourniquets on to secure her airway,” Forbess said.

“She lost consciousness at times. She was awake and talking, but she was unconscious at times.”

Doctors, along with several nurses and paramedics who were also on the beach that day, rushed to rescue the girl. She was flown by helicopter to HCA Fort Walton-Destin Hospital and then transported to Ascension Sacred Heart in Pensacola, where her leg was amputated above the knee and the wounds were closed.

“It was a fortunate team effort with a lot of people on the scene,” Forbess said. “There were some nurses there who were great. There were paramedics and then Dr. Ali, he’s an interventional radiologist, so he was able to find the places to stop the bleeding until the emergency responders arrived.”

One of Lulu’s friends was also bitten on the foot by the shark, but escaped serious injury, according to Lulu’s mother, Ann Gribbin.

Less than two hours before Gribbin and her friend were bitten, a 45-year-old woman was also bitten by a shark while swimming near Founders Lane in Watersound Beach, a few miles away, losing her left forearm, officials said.

Dr. Ryan Forbess honored for saving teenager from shark bite

Forbess received a certificate of recognition from the City of Orange Beach: “On behalf of the Mayor and City Council, we honor and recognize Dr. Ryan Forbess for his assistance in the heroic efforts to save the young lady’s life. We and the community of Orange Beach are eternally grateful for his selfless actions.”

“You are truly our local hero, Dr. Forbess,” the city’s Facebook post said. “Thank you.”

What is Lulu Gribbons’ condition after the shark attack in Florida?

Since arriving at Sacred Heart, Lulu, who is from Mountain Brook, Alabama, has undergone multiple surgeries to amputate her leg, prevent infection and prepare nerve endings for prosthetics. Her doctors said she has lost two-thirds of her blood, her mother, Ann Gribbin, shared on CaringBridge.org, where she details Lulu’s progress.

Doctors were able to remove Lulu’s breathing tube by Saturday, Gribbin said, and she has responded very well to the surgeries. Last week, she was flown by helicopter to another facility to begin rehabilitation with a “specialist who is pioneering the field of multiple limb amputation,” her mother said. On Tuesday, Gribbin said Lulu stood on her own for the first time since the incident.

“Lulu is a high-flyer!” posted Gribbin.

One of her surgeries, called the Starfish procedure, reconnects the severed nerve endings to muscles so Lulu can control individual fingers and her entire hand with a prosthetic. She also uses virtual reality rehab with a VR headset to “see” and move her missing hand, which is designed to convince her brain it’s still there so it doesn’t reroute those functions before the prosthetic can be fitted, Gribbin said.

Is it safe to swim in Walton County, Florida?

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office and officers from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission patrolled the coast for several days following the numerous shark bites.

“The helicopter pilot reported (on Friday) that he was seeing an unusual amount of shark activity, particularly on our western end (near Walton County),” said Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford. But during further flyovers over the weekend, pilots observed that the local shark population was returning to “normal levels.”

The beaches reopened to swimmers, but purple flags (indicating dangerous marine life) continued to fly for the following week.

However, some beaches in Bay and Walton County are closed to swimming and wading on Thursday. But that’s not because of the sharks.

The double red flag warning for Bay County beaches, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key is due to the high risk of life-threatening surf rip currents caused by strong winds in the Gulf, where Tropical Storm Alberto is bringing rain and gusty winds to Mexico and South Texas. The National Weather Service says Bay, Walton, Gulf and Franklin County beaches are under a high risk of life-threatening surf rip currents through at least late Thursday.

“Strong easterly winds have been blowing in the eastern Gulf for several days now,” the warning said. “In response, the buoy located approximately 90 miles south of Apalachicola recorded 8-foot waves early this morning (Tuesday). These conditions predict a high risk of rip currents through at least Thursday and likely Friday when the easterly winds subside.”

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