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Lulu Gribbin was 15 when she survived a shark attack off the coast of Florida. She lost her left hand, part of her right leg and almost her life.<\/p>\n
What she didn\u2019t know when she entered the water on that day in 2024 was that another woman had been bitten by a shark 90 minutes earlier and just 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) down the beach. Had she known about the earlier attack, there is no way she would have been swimming, she said. <\/p>\n
Gribbin\u2019s story has inspired new federal legislation to authorize emergency alerts to mobile phones to warn beachgoers when a shark has bitten someone in the area.<\/p>\n
President Donald Trump last week signed \u201cLulu\u2019s Law,\u201d which requires the Federal Communications Commission to allow the emergency messages. The legislation, which Gribbin advocated for, authorizes the warnings by classifying a shark attack as an event for which an emergency alert can be issued. It is up to states to implement the warnings. Gribbin\u2019s home state of Alabama approved such a warning system<\/a> last year. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s really just common-sense legislation. It says that whenever there has been a shark attack in a certain area where you are near, it will send an alert to your phone, exactly like how an Amber Alert system works when a child is abducted,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Gribbin said she hopes the alert system will help prevent attacks like hers. \u201cI definitely see this law working in the future and I’m really excited to hopefully save lives,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Gribbin was one of three people<\/a> bitten by a shark on June 7, 2024, off the Florida Panhandle.<\/p>\n She was on a mother-daughter trip to the Florida Panhandle. Gribbin said she and her friend had been diving for sand dollars. <\/p>\n \u201cAll of the sudden my best friend yelled, \u2018Shark!\u2019 and so we all started swimming for our lives,\u201d Gribbin recalled. She said she remembered that sharks are attracted to frantic splashing and yelled for everyone to be calm. Gribbin, who was closest to the shark, was bitten.<\/p>\n \u201cThe shark bit off my hand first, and I raised my arm out of the water, and there was just flesh and bone there,\u201d Gribbin said. The shark then latched onto her leg. A man punched the shark off her and strangers on the beach rushed to help. She was flown by helicopter to a nearby hospital. <\/p>\n Doctors were able to save the teen’s life but had to amputate part of her right leg. <\/p>\n In the hospital, Gribbin made a deliberate decision to choose joy and to never give up. <\/p>\n She initially struggled knowing, \u201cthat I only have two regular limbs, and that my life would be completely different.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI would cry, and I would ask my mom, \u2018Why is it happening to me?\u2019 And on that day, we put a Bible verse on my bedside table that said, \u2018With God, all things are possible.\u2019 And then she told me that what you look like doesn\u2019t define you, it\u2019s who you are on the inside. And so, I think that stuck with me throughout my whole recovery the past two years.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t matter what I look like, as long as I\u2019m spreading positivity and inspiring others to stay strong and to never give up,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n Gribbin was fitted with prosthetic limbs, quickly regained her ability to walk, returned to sports and got her driver\u2019s license. She has gone back in the water and learned to surf, meeting Bethany Hamilton<\/a>, a professional surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack. <\/p>\n U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, the Alabama Republican who sponsored the legislation, said the legislation happened because of the teen’s \u201ccourage, perseverance, and advocacy to protect future beachgoers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of her strength, lives will be changed. We should all be inspired by her,\u201d Britt said. <\/p>\n While sharks are commonly found in the waters off the United States, shark bites are rare<\/a>, said Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Museum of Natural History\u2019s shark research program.<\/p>\n There are between 60 to 80 known unprovoked bites worldwide each year, he said. It’s extremely rare that two or more people are bit in close proximity. He said in a database of known shark bites, called the International Shark Attack File, there have only been a few instances of multiple bites in a single day. <\/p>\n When that happens, he said it\u2019s likely because of environmental conditions such as sharks following schools of bait fish closer to the shore. Murky water conditions can also be a factor because they increase the chance that a shark will mistake a person for a fish or seal. <\/p>\n In the area where Gribbin was bitten, there are about 20 to 30 bull sharks 1,312 feet (400 meters) offshore at all time, Naylor said. Great white sharks have been spotted<\/a> more frequently in the chilly waters of New England and Atlantic Canada, according to conservation groups. A smartphone app called Sharktivity<\/a> also allows shark spotters to report their sightings.<\/p>\n The sightings might unnerve people, but Naylor said it’s important to remember that shark attacks are rare. <\/p>\n \u201cIf sharks wanted to eat people, we\u2019d have about 10,000 bites a day. The fact that we have so few is basically testament to the fact that the sharks are doing their level best to avoid people, not to target them,\u201d Naylor said. <\/p>\n Gribbin said she would rather people have the opportunity to get information and make decisions about protecting themselves than to go into the water without knowing.<\/p>\n