Surfing legend Bethany Hamilton has broken her silence on the tragic death of her nephew, who died after being found unconscious in a bathtub.
Three-year-old Andrew Samuel Hamilton died Thursday in Oahu, Hawaii, days after suffering injuries during the drowning incident at his home.
The famous surfer posted a heartfelt tribute on Instagram saying the young man will be greatly missed by his family and thanked fans for their support in praying for a medical miracle.
‘The Lord has received my sweet nephew Andrés under his beautiful care. “While my family and I will miss him dearly, we trust that his joy will be filled with Jesus,” Hamilton said.
‘Here is a prayer of faith that my brother and our entire family said last week. This prayer so amazingly describes what it is to have faith. Faith is trusting that God’s will for our lives is greater than ours.
Surfing legend Bethany Hamilton wrote that the young man will be greatly missed by his family and thanked fans for their support in praying for a medical miracle.
The 3-year-old nephew of renowned surfer Andrew Samuel Hamilton died Thursday in Oahu, Hawaii, after being found unconscious in a bathtub on October 12.
‘Thank you all for the love, prayers and support during this difficult time. Be blessed.”
Fans posted their condolences for the Hamilton family’s loss.
One fan said: ‘My deepest condolences and prayers to you and your family. Andrew is on his new path with a greater purpose, and while his time here was shorter than desired, it was invaluable. Until you meet again.
Former Hawaii U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard weighed in supporting the family.
‘Thank you. “We are lifting Andrew and the entire family in our prayers as they find peace and refuge in the warm embrace of God’s eternal and unconditional love,” Gabbard said.
In his message announcing Andrew’s death, the boy’s father said it came only after “all the best life-saving interventions had been exhausted.”
“It hurts terribly and we miss Andrew more than words can express,” his father said in a heartbreaking Instagram post.
He said he will be mourned by his many loved ones and “his family in Christ,” whose “constant prayers at Andrew’s bedside and preaching of God’s words to our broken hearts have sustained our souls this past week.”
“It hurts terribly and we miss Andrew more than words can express,” she continued.
“It hurts terribly and we miss Andrew more than words can express,” his father said in a heartbreaking Instagram post. Pictured: Andrew held by his mother Kyah.
In his message announcing Andrew’s death, the boy’s father (right) said it came only after “all the best life-saving interventions had been exhausted.”
Hamilton wrote on Saturday: ‘Thank you all for the love, prayers and support at this difficult time. be blessed
Andrew was found unconscious and not breathing in a bathtub on Oct. 11 after his parents immersed him in Epsom salts and six inches of water after he developed a fever.
The boy was 15 feet from the kitchen and living room when they found him unconscious, which they wrote was “disconcerting” since he was an “incredible swimmer.”
After they were able to get a heartbeat with chest compressions, they took him to the hospital and then transferred him to Kapiolani on Oahu on the morning of October 12.
Bethany, a well-known shark attack survivor, told her fans after Andrew was hospitalized: “We are devastated.” But I know how the right medical support can make or break a person’s chances of survival.
“In this case we are asking for help from anyone who has information on what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.”
Bethany’s brother Noah, who is not Andrew’s father, also asked people for prayers and called his little nephew a “strong, resilient boy” and an “incredible swimmer.”
He wrote: ‘Please join us in praying for my brother’s fifth youngest son, Andrew, as he flew to Oahu in the middle of the night.
He is three and a half and five years old. He is a strong, resilient boy and an incredible swimmer. They found him not breathing in the shallow water of the bathtub. His vital signs were enough to get him to Oahu.
On Saturday, the family revealed that Andrew had succumbed to his injuries after exhausting all “life-saving measures.”
Bethany, a well-known shark attack survivor, told her fans on October 12 after Andrew was hospitalized: “We are devastated.” But I know how proper medical support can make or break a person’s chances of survival.
For Andrew’s treatment, the family was able to contact Dr. Paul Harch, a world-renowned expert in hyperbaric oxygen therapy in cases of drowning children, but they were told they would have to be evacuated to the mainland to use their services.
Andrew’s medical update mention while he was alive was that his ventilator had to be taken off due to carbon monoxide being detected in his blood on Wednesday night.
Bethany is best known for a shark attack at age 13 that nearly derailed her career.
Bethany is best known for a shark attack at age 13 that nearly derailed her career.
In 2003, while surfing off the coast of Kauai with a friend’s family, a 14-foot tiger shark tore off his left arm, just below the shoulder.
The others were able to swim her to shore and put a tourniquet on her, but by the time she got to the hospital she had already lost 60 percent of her blood.
A tiger shark that was captured and killed shortly after the attack had pieces of a surfboard lodged in its jaws, and was later determined to have been the attacking shark.
Despite her devastating injury, Bethany took less than a month to recover before returning to surfing, and had her first professional competition after the attack in 2004.