On late Sunday afternoon, two teenagers fell victims to two separate shark attacks at Oak Island, North Carolina. Both adolescents suffered critical injuries including a severed arm and an injured leg, but they are currently in stable condition.
The first victim Kiersten Yow is a 12-year-old girl from Asheboro. The shark ripped off her left arm from below the elbow and bit her leg. Ninety minutes later another shark attack was reported in the same area. Hunter Treschel, a Colorado 16-year-old boy was attacked this time. The shark ferociously bit off his left arm above the elbow.
The two paramedics that rescued the teens were Peter Joyce, who has been doing his job for five years and Jack Baker, an 11-year veteran. They both said that the shark attacks were the first in their entire career.
They explained that usually when people call them for a “shark attack” the injuries are caused by either jellyfish or stingrays. But when they reached the beach and saw people so alarmed, desperately waving at the ambulance, they thought: “This one seemed different.”
Yow was lying face down when the two doctors arrived. Five people managed to wrap life saving tourniquets around her left arm and leg. No beach goer was swimming in the water while 40 bystanders were in a state of shock.
Treschel’s chance was to have his friend by his side when the attack occurred. The two paramedics found the boy unconsciously lying on the beach, but he had a makeshift tourniquet around his left arm that prevented him from bleeding to death. His friend used a belt to make the tourniquet.
Baker said that the 16 year old was in a very critical shape when they found him, but his friend probably saved his life.
The two attacks occurred within 90 minutes with Treschel being found 2 miles away from the place where the first shark attack was reported. The first victim of the attack lost her left arm below the elbow, but surgeons Tuesday at University of North Carolina’s N.C. Children’s Hospital said that they would be able to save her leg.
As of Tuesday, Yow was in stable condition, according to her parents. Doctors said that she had a long road to recovery, a few more surgeries and counseling, but they were grateful that they could save her leg.
Treschel’s left arm was bitten above the elbow. On Tuesday, he was still in hospital but in a stable condition.
Image Source: The National
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