Kaua'i's Bethany finds her 'destiny' in the spotlight

By Jill Lieber
USA Today

PRINCEVILLE, Hawai'i — Bethany Hamilton has always been a compassionate child. But since the 14-year-old Hawaiian surfing sensation lost her left arm in a shark attack on Halloween, her compassion has deepened.

Back on the board, Bethany Hamilton was surfing competitively in January on the Big Island after losing her arm to a shark while surfing in October. Associated Press

A few hours later, her empathy surfaced again, during a stress debriefing session with Kai Swigart, a psychologist who is legally blind and who specializes in faith-based Christian assistance. Hamilton told him his loss of sight was far worse than her loss of an arm. She offered to donate money being raised to help pay her medical bills to pay for an operation to restore his sight.

And in December, Hamilton touched more hearts when, on a media tour of New York City, she suddenly removed her ski jacket and gave it to a homeless girl sitting on a subway grate in Times Square. Wearing only a tank top, Hamilton then canceled a shopping spree, saying she already had too many things.

"Bethany was always very giving, very loving and very kind, but I've never seen anything like this," says her father, Tom. "She's got more wisdom, I guess."

Adds Swigart: "She told me that she had visited heaven and then had come back to be with her family. Anyone who touches heaven has a serenity, a spirit, a presence that transcends normal human experience."

Most lives would be shattered by such a horrifying event. But Hamilton, a member of the North Shore Christian Church, leader of the Hanalei Girls Surf Team and a high-ranked amateur female surfer when she was attacked, remains unshaken.

She opens drink bottles by wedging them between her thighs and twisting open the caps with her right hand. She cuts oranges and peels tangerines by sitting on the floor and grasping the fruit between the soles of her feet. She even wrapped the Christmas gifts she gave to family and friends.

"The list of things she'll have to do differently is long, but the list of things she can't do is very short," says David Rovinsky, her orthopedic surgeon. "The only thing she really can't do is braid her hair."

Hamilton seems to remain oblivious to her physical condition and says she is concentrating on becoming one of the world's best surfers.

"We thought we'd be at her bedside, helping her cope, but she's not suffering," her father says. "Somehow God gave Bethany an amazing amount of grace in this. I am in awe. She never says, 'Why me?' "

Bethany went snowboarding in February at Mountain High Resort in California. A competitive surfer, Hamilton has just recently taken up snowboarding. Associated Press

Instead of covering up in shirts with sleeves, Hamilton shows off what remains of her left arm, which she has nicknamed Stumpy, in tank tops and sports tops. To those seeing it for the first time, she says, "Hey, check it out!"

"She's so cool about it," says her friend Alana Blanchard, 14, another of Hawai'i's top-ranked surfers. "If she was bummed out all the time, we'd be bummed out."

Hamilton isn't too fond of her first prosthetic, which is purely for cosmetic purposes and moves only if she manipulates it. She calls it Haole Girl, because initially its skin tone was lighter than her tanned skin. It was recently dyed darker.

"You'll see her carrying it over her shoulder like a backpack," says Kim Brady, whose two daughters are surfing buddies of Hamilton's.

"It's a hilarious sight, a real Kodak moment. Bethany has no qualms about her stump. It's as if she's telling everybody, 'Get over it, because I have.' "

Hamilton has been back in the ocean since Thanksgiving, practicing twice a day and focused on the National Scholastic Surfing Association national championships in San Clemente, Calif., in June. She was second last summer.

"She wakes me up at 5 a.m. and screams, 'Let's go surfing!' " Alana moans. "She just always wants to surf."

In mid-January, Hamilton finished fifth in the Open Women's division at an NSSA meet on the Big Island. In her next contest, three weeks later on Maui, she failed to make it out of the first heat.

Paddling, Hamilton says, is her biggest challenge. She's using a custom-made 6-foot-2 board, five inches longer and slightly thicker than her previous one, making it more buoyant and easier to paddle. Also, Hamilton has attached a strap to the board, 20 inches below its nose. By grabbing this strap, her father says, she is better able to "duck dive" her board under the waves — and pull it through white water — as she paddles out to the spot where the waves are breaking.

"Bethany is a very driven and inspirational girl," says Rochelle Ballard, one of the world's top female pro surfers, who grew up on Kaua'i's north shore.

Bethany Hamilton's first competition after the shark attack was at January's NSSA meet in Kona. Associated Press

"Bethany sees it as an opportunity that has been handed to her by God," says Roy Hofstetter, a close family friend. "She believes that her arm was taken by the shark so that she would be noticed and that she would help and inspire others."

Adds Hamilton: "I might not be here if I hadn't asked for God's help. I look at everything that's happened as part of God's plan for my life."

Hamilton's life is richer and fuller — and her surfing career more tangible and lucrative — than before the attack.

"She's the most recognized surfer on the planet," says Adam Sharp, vice president of sales and marketing for Rip Curl, a leading surf-wear manufacturer that has sponsored Hamilton for the last five years. About 267,000 people have visited her Web site, www.bethanyhamilton.com.

Within days of the attack, the attention had become so overwhelming that Hamilton's father asked Hofstetter, a part-time Kaua'i resident and a Los Angeles-based entertainment entrepreneur, to act as the family's agent.

"I've had a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week job ever since," Hofstetter says.

Hamilton has taken four trips to the Mainland for one-week publicity tours, and more are scheduled.

She has appeared on "Oprah," "20/20," "Good Morning America," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Inside Edition." She has been featured in People magazine. Her story has been written up in newspapers in Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.

ABC News anchor Peter Jennings told Hamilton's father that his daughter was the most sought after interview next to Iraqi POW Jessica Lynch.

She's weighing book and movie deals.

She's pondering invitations from Fortune 500 companies to give motivational speeches.

She's sifting through requests for public appearances (at $5,000 a pop) and opportunities for endorsements.

She was the starter for the Formula 1 Grand Prix auto race in Australia on March 7.

She is scheduled to throw out the first pitch at the Oakland Athletics' season opener today and surf in a major event in Nicaragua in August.

She'll compete in three U.S. pro surfing contests in the next six months.

She's learning to snowboard, thanks to free trips from resorts and free lessons from top pro riders Tara Dakides and Tina Basich.

And Hofstetter just scored her a more lucrative contract with Rip Curl (which also signed Blanchard) as well as arranged a deal to provide Hamilton with her first set of braces, which she'll receive Wednesday.

"She's already smiling more in interviews," Hofstetter says. "What I'm trying to do is make this 15 minutes of fame into brand Bethany Hamilton."

Hamilton's medical bills, rehabilitation and prosthetic care are being paid for by her father's medical insurance, fund-raisers in Hawai'i and donations made to her Web site or to any branch of First Hawaiian Bank.

As for the opportunities that have come their way because of the tragedy, and the money the family could make from it, her father says, "We want to take care of Bethany. We want to buy her a piece of property on Kaua'i. We want her to have money if she decides to go to college or if she'd like to start a business.

"But honestly, her mother and I would just as soon this never happened and live paycheck to paycheck for the rest of our lives."

The Hamiltons are a laid-back, blue-collar family, who have put all the time, energy and what little money they could scrape together into their daughter's competitive surfing aspirations. Tom, 55, is a waiter at the Princeville Hotel. His wife, Cheri, 50, works part-time in catering there.

Hamilton's two brothers have helped fuel her dreams, too. Noah, 22, is her official photographer. Timmy, 17, is her videographer.

They love to kid her about being born with salt water in her veins. At 5, she entered her first contest; by 9, she was aiming toward a pro career and had signed a sponsorship deal with Rip Curl that covered entry fees and travel expenses and got her free products.

The Hamiltons decided to home school their daughter in the seventh grade, to better meet the demands of her surfing training. This year she is enrolled in eighth grade online, through the Myron B. Thompson Academy in Honolulu, which has allowed her to juggle the demands of being Brand Bethany — and the wonderful wave she's now riding.

Hanger Prosthetics has designed (and offered as part of a deal) two prosthetic arms for Hamilton. The cost: $100,000. Hanger's Troy Farnsworth says he can develop a waterproof prosthetic that could be worn surfing and give her the ability to paddle. But she'd need a longer stump on which to attach it, he says. Rovinsky has investigated procedures to lengthen her bone but doubts it can be done.

As always, Hamilton remains undaunted. She has told her father that if having only one arm proves detrimental to reaching the top in competitive surfing, then she'd see about playing soccer.

"She's looking forward to the future," says Steve Thompson, the pastor at North Shore Christian Church. "She's asking herself, 'How can I show the world I still have a life, that I enjoy my life and that my life is filled with joy?' She has an underlying trust that God is taking care of her."

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