MOUNTAIN BROOK, Ala. — A girl critically injured in a shark attack earlier this summer has returned home to her Central Alabama community after more than two months of therapy and adjustment to a new prosthetic leg.
Lulu Gribbin was attacked by the shark in early June while visiting Rosemary Beach, Florida. She spent the weeks afterward recuperating at a hospital in North Carolina, where she was fitted for the prosthesis.
She also lost a hand in the attack.
Saturday, her friends, family and neighbors welcomed her back with a parade. "Sweet Home Alabama" was played as Gribbin rode down the street in a golf cart adorned with purple balloons and a sign which read "Lulu Strong."
That phrase, a social media rallying cry supporting her and her family, was seen in signs all across the parade route.
According to the Birmingham FOX affiliate, the teen’s family is now acclimating back to life at home, and says they are thankful for the generosity of the community.
Two Alabama lawmakers, Sen. Katie Britt and Congressman Gary Palmer, recently introduced "Lulu's Law" for consideration..
It would codify shark attacks as events for which wireless emergency alerts, or WEA's, may be transmitted.
This would prompt local, state, and federal authorities to quickly deploy warnings via mobile phone alert messages to the public if a shark has attacked someone, or if the conditions enhancing the possibility of a shark attack are present.
