Soul Surfer

In the first two sentences of this chapter, Hamilton tells us that she was lucky on the morning of the attack because the doctor on duty at the hospital had dealt with a shark bite that took off a surfer’s foot a few years earlier. This same doctor was also a surfer and a member of Hamilton’s church; that is, he was already a member of her community. The second doctor, the one who would operate on her that morning, had been prepared to operate on her father when that surgery was interrupted by the news of the shark attack.

Hamilton gives the reader some indication of the incredible damage the shark bite did to her body, without going into too much medical detail. The doctor, prior to taking Hamilton into surgery, tells her mother that “a lot of things had to have gone right for her to make it to this point” (99).

This chapter includes Hamilton’s account of her recovery from the attack and surgery, including the worry, fear, and exhaustion her family members experience. Hamilton’s own response reveals her resilience: Two days after the attack, she informs her father that she wants to be “the best surf photographer in the world” (105), and she assures her friends and family that she is still the same person.