August 26, 2015

Brave 10-Year Old Shark Bite Victim Wades Back Into The Ocean To Save Her Friend

By Meera Dolasia

On Wednesday, August 19th, ten-year-old Florida resident Kaley Szarmack was wading in knee-deep ocean waters at a Jacksonville beach, when she experienced a sharp pain in her right leg. Thinking that a crab was holding on to her, the young girl looked down only to see multiple lacerations on both sides of her leg. Soon after, Kaley noticed the dorsal fin of what appeared to be a three-foot long shark darting away from the crime scene.

Shouting a quick warning to her six-year-old friend that was also in the water, Kaley hobbled out to get help from her family that was sitting further up on the beach. But when she turned around she realized that the girl had not heard her and was still happily splashing in the ocean. So Kaley wadded back in and pulled her young buddy to safety, before seeking help for her wounds.

The young hero was immediately rushed to Wolfson Children's Hospital where she underwent an hour-long surgery to repair the massive cuts from the shark's bite. Fortunately, other than the scar from the 90 stitches she received, Kaley is expected to recover completely from this scary incident.

Resources: nydailynews.com,dailymail.co.uk.

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VocabularyPlay Game

dorsalhobbledlacerationsunderwent

Geography

Jacksonville, Florida

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Reading Comprehension (3 questions)

What happened to Kaley on August 19th?
Why did she go back into the water?

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Critical Thinking Challenge

What does this incident tell you about the kind of girl Kaley is?

1496 Comments

djfortnteTuesday, March 19, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Wait...can she die because of a sharkbite?!
grimreeper13Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at 2:50 pm
this is soooooooo sweet! im glad that they are both ok. She was brave and saved her friend before she got help for her bleeding laserated led
devilThursday, March 14, 2019 at 6:11 am
I think that she was a good person for that.
ParisQueen22Friday, March 8, 2019 at 9:43 am
Oh no! I feel so bad for them. I am so glad that Kaley saved her friend. This has a great theme... when you have friends, be thankful for them. You should always be there and look out for your friends. I love this story!
Irish dancer 1Saturday, March 2, 2019 at 7:59 pm
I am shocked at how brave she is and how after the shark bit her she still went in to save her friend. This shows that you need friends and that when you find one you will be very thankful for them.
catty123Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 8:00 pm
She is so brave
habiFriday, February 22, 2019 at 11:12 am
man she is brave
LllllTuesday, February 19, 2019 at 2:11 pm
poor girl she so brave
Sladexx3Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:59 am
That girl is so brave,DUDE!!!!
dolphinlover13Sunday, February 3, 2019 at 11:20 am
:) So sweet!