SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas (KVEO) On July 4, 2024, Tabatha Sullivent was one of four people who were bitten by a shark in shallow waters on Texas’ South Padre Island.
The Celina, Texas, native was swimming when something dark approached her from the water.
“All I saw was something gray in the water, so I just kicked at it because I thought ‘Oh my God, it’s a huge fish,’” Sullivent told NesdNation affiliate KVEO shortly after the attack.
Sullivent continued to kick at the shark until it attacked and bit off a majority of her left calf. Two Border Patrol agents and a swim coach were credited with helping Sullivent, using cooler straps to create a tourniquet for her leg on the beach.
Following the shark attack, Sullivent underwent skin grafting surgery along with regular therapy visits to help with her recovery process.
Just over a month later, Sullivent shared her first steps since the attack on social media.
“What I lost isn’t coming back, and I think that’s the hardest part for me right now. Is…just knowing my leg isn’t gonna…doesn’t grow back,” Sullivent said.
Sullivent told KVEO she spent a month recovering in McAllen, Texas, before being transferred to her home near Dallas, where she underwent extensive therapy and another surgery.
“I had a bone exposed that I had to get another skin graft done on that one, so I did that one at Baylor in Dallas,” she added.
Sullivent said she recalled having a conversation with one of her physical therapists, who asked about her goals. She responded that there was a special occasion she could not miss. Less than four months after the shark attack, Sullivent was determined to walk at her daughter’s wedding.
And she did it.
“I walked down the aisle, and I was dancing unassisted, so it was amazing it was great,” she said.
At the time of the interview, Sullivent was getting ready for a vacation but quickly added that it was not at the beach.
Sullivent and her husband, who was also injured in the attack when he tried to rescue his wife, are headed far away from the ocean.
“Get a nice little tan going, and stay off the beach and out of the water,” she explained. “We do have the pool so that we can do that.”
Sullivent said her whole family has gone to counseling together, and she is also seeing a therapist on her own. She added that she is working through the trauma and hopes to get back to one of her favorite hobbies.
“I want to go on the boat, I want to go snorkeling, I want to get in the water. I notice now if I see snorkeling adventures or deeper water, I’m not sure I could get in it,” Sullivent said. “I think it would be really hard for me. And I would probably just panic and not know what was around me.”
Her physical ordeal is not over either; she explained she will need to undergo another surgery soon. She also plans to get a cosmetic surgery on her leg in the next few years for aesthetic purposes and to better protect her nearly exposed bone.
Sullivent said she has met some amazing people throughout her journey, with a tremendous friend group and amazing community support.
“We came home from being down in the Valley to a new front porch with a ramp on it because I was in a wheelchair, and I couldn’t walk, so just knowing that people are out there and people care.”
Although she may not be heading to the beach anytime soon, the ocean, in a way, is coming to her, as she will be appearing in an episode of the Discovery Channel’s “Shark Week” later this month.
Sullivent said, for her, it is going to be a lot more remembering she can still do things she did not think she would be able to do and to keep living life.
