NC shark attack victim gets welcome home party after month in hospital

NEW BERN, N.C. — She lost a leg and her hands will never be the same.

But despite all that, New Bern teenager Paige Winter was beaming Wednesday night when family and friends gathered at the restaurant where she used to work as a hostess before a shark attack June 2 in the waters off Fort Macon State Park altered her life forever.

Winter nearly died as a result of her injuries and may well have done so had her father not punched the attacking shark in the nose multiple times, then applied the proper pressure to her wounds to keep his daughter from bleeding to death.

FULL COVERAGE:

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Throughout the multiple surgeries and lengthy hospital stay, Winter maintained a positive outlook, saying she remains an advocate for sharks and other aquatic animals. She credited the support from her family and friends and total strangers for keeping her going.

"It fuels me, you know?" Winter told Channel 9 affiliate WCTI. "It makes me more positive and upbeat and it moves me forward in my healing."

Robert Downey Jr. reached out to Winter while she was still in the hospital, inspired by her attitude, and asked her to be a part of an environmental advocacy group called the Footprint Coalition.

"I have a bigger platform to speak out about shark finning, which is horrible," Winter told WCTI. "If nobody else is going to do it, then I will."

Cox Media Group