A North Carolina teen who almost lost her life to a violent shark attack says that her desperate prayers to God in that moment saved her life.
17-year-old Paige Winter was wading in waist-deep water at a North Carolina beach during a day of fun with her family at Atlantic Beach when a shark suddenly clamped her leg and pulled her under water.
She says she almost gave up, but then she cried out to God for protection, and while she was praying to God, her father was trying his best to strike the shark till it let his daughter go.
“Carrying her through the water, I was holding her leg as tight as I could to stop the bleeding. And then once I hit that shore. . . I’m a dad,” Charlie Winter recalled.
The rescue team rushed Paige to the hospital, but doctors had no choice but to amputate her left leg at the mid-thigh. She also lost two fingers after multiple surgeries on her hands. But whatb she did not lose was her persevering spirit which even touched the doctors.
“Paige Winter is an extraordinary young woman,” Dr. Eric Toschlog says. “I hear recurring words to describe her: courageous, forgiving and resilient. . . She has lifted and inspired those around her.”
Winter’s father is a firefighter and paramedic, and thanks to him, and a stranger who used his belt as a tourniquet on Paige, her life was saved. She was also attended to by an amazing medical team with all the latest advancements in technology to help save her life.
“The real heroes in this story are a loving father and mother, a volunteer on a beach and a truly amazing young woman,” Dr. Eric Toschlog says. “Paige is alive as a result of one of the strongest forces that I have encountered in 20 years as a trauma surgeon, surpassing any medical technology. She was saved by love, the love of a father for his daughter.”
Paige said she wanted people to learn from her story, “Sometimes life just throws really weird obstacles at you. . . It’s really hard. But isn’t that why we do things anyway? ‘Cause they’re hard?”
This is a story of incredible love of the heavenly Father for his child, it was He who orchestrated Paige’s survival by putting everything needed to save her in order. Hallelujah!
