MIAMI — The parents of a boy from North Carolina who survived a shark attack in the Florida Keys released their debut book: “Rescue at the Reef: The Miraculous True Story of a Little Boy with Big Faith,“ published on Tuesday
Jameson Reeder Jr. was 10 years old when he jumped in the water to snorkel with a GoPro camera on Aug. 13, 2022, in the Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area.
Jameson had just filmed a small sea turtle in a coral reef in warm, shallow waters about nine miles offshore when a bull shark -- about 9 feet long -- attacked him.
Jameson held on to a noodle and screamed for help.
The flesh from half of his right leg was gone when his father, Rev. Jameson Reeder, pulled him out of the water. There was a nurse in a nearby boat who treated him in a good Samaritan’s boat.
After they made it to shore, fire rescue helped Jameson, and a helicopter flew him and his mother, Mary Catherine Reeder, to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami-Dade County.
Local 10 News followed part of his initial treatment and recovery.
Days after the attack, Jameson had to undergo surgery to amputate what was left of his leg below the knee.
About two months later, Jameson was fitted for his first prosthetic leg. It was just the beginning of his journey of survival, and his father was already proud.
“His ability to just grow into maturity through this has blown us away,” his father told Local 10 News. “He has had the greatest spirit.”
Publisher’s Weekly highlighted a line out of the inspirational book: The “stories God gives us may not be the stories we would choose for ourselves, but when they’re handed to us, we become God’s stewards.”
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