A Colorado teenager who lost her leg after being attacked by a pair of sharks is adjusting to her new normal with an indominable spirit.
Annabelle Carlson and her family were on a diving trip off the coast of Belize in August when the 15-year-old jumped in the water for a swim.
“The minute she hit the water the shark attacked her,” her mother, Kellie Carlson, told NBC’s Morgan Chesky in an exclusive interview with her daughter that aired Dec. 31 on TODAY.
“It came from under the boat. It started attacking my hands,” Annabelle Carlson said.
“I’m screaming, yelling, ‘Somebody help! Help her!’” her mother said.
“And as they’re pulling me in, there’s a second shark that does bite my right leg,” Annabelle Carlson added.
The two sharks injured her hands and severely hurt her right leg.
“I knew right then and there I was going have to do everything I could to save her life,” Kellie Carlson said.
It took more than two hours traveling by boat and helicopter to get Annabelle Carlson to a hospital in Belize.
“I wasn’t sure she was going to make it ‘cause she was sheet-white,” her mother said, while noting she was told her daughter was going to lose her leg.
Annabelle, who has been through seven surgeries after the attack, has been fitted with a prosthetic leg. Despite the ordeal and recovery, she keeps a smile on her face.
“I wake up every day feeling grateful, just because, I mean, I’m here,” she said.
She also has embraced what her life has become, even dressing up this past Halloween with her best friend as a shark and a shark attack victim.
“It’s fun to be able to joke about it, I think, ‘cause at least for me, it’s part of staying positive,” she said.
Annabelle hopes to play lacrosse, ski and get back in the water again. She is also dealing with a bacterial infection that she’s treating with five different antibiotics that she has to take every day for at least the next six months.
“We’re hopeful. All signs are pointing to good things,” her mother said.
“This whole thing has really opened my eyes to her strength, a strength I didn’t know she had,” she added.