Nearly two years ago, Mountain Brook teen Lulu Gribbin was gearing up for a trip to Florida with her mom, twin sister and their friends. It was a mother-daughter trip for the girls, who were excited to enjoy the beach and dine with their moms.
However, it ended with a horrifying shark attack that would leave Gribbin handicapped for the rest of her life. Gribbin lost her left hand and right leg when a shark attacked her and a friend.
Lulu Gribbin is not letting her handicap prevent her from doing everything a teen girl wants to do.
This year, she is facing and conquering obstacles she never dreamed of. On Memorial Day weekend, she again shocked loved ones and supporters during a lake trip. She took to the lake on a water ski and showed what determination and strength really look like.
The inspirational lake event was just two weeks shy of the shark attack.
A video of Gribbin was posted on the Instagram page, "Lulu Strong."
Gribbin's story has continued to touch the hearts of Alabamians as she pushes her body and builds confidence.
This year, the Alabama Legislature passed a bill to establish a shark attack alert system similar to an Amber Alert. Because a third woman was attacked in the same area as Gribbin and her friend, and on the same day, lawmakers felt it would be beneficial to have an alert system to warn beachgoers of shark attacks. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law.
On the federal level, U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) and U.S. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) have introduced companion bills to codify the ability for authorities to deploy shark attack alerts.
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