As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to revisit some of the stories that resonated most across Mountain Brook. These aren’t just top clicks or biggest headlines — they’re pieces that captured something real about the people, places and moments that defined the year.
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Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Schools
Lulu Gribbin speaks at a TEDx Youth event on Feb. 22, 2025.
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Photo courtesy of the Gribbin family
Lulu Gribbin hit the driving range on Sept. 12., just three months after becoming a double amputee.
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Gribbin Family
Just before being released from the hospital to return home to Mountain Brook, Lulu Gribbin got to attend an NFL preseason game between the Charlotte Panthers and New York Jets.
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Gribbin Family
Lulu Gribbin, left, got to meet Charlotte Panthers QB Bryce Young, a former University of Alabama star and Heisman Trophy winner, when she attended an NFL preseason game.
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Gribbin Family
Lulu Gribbin, 15, and her mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, raise their hands in triumph on Friday, August 23, after Lulu walked out of Levine Children's Hospital in Charlotte, NC., where she had been recovering from a shark attack she suffered on June 7 in Walton County, Florida.
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Photo courtesy of Mountain Brook Schools and Martin Retail Group
Martin Retail Group in association with Central Alabama Buick GMC Dealers visited Mountain Brook High School student, Lulu Gribbin, on Tuesday afternoon March 18, 2025 to donate her a Buick Envista.
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Photo courtesy of the Gribbins family.
Dr. Ryan Forbess, a family medicine doctor from Orange Beach, Alabama, with Lulu Gribbins. Forbess was one of the doctors that performed lifesaving measures at the scene following the attack.
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Photo courtesy of the Gribbin family.
Lulu Gribbin, her twin sister, Ellie, and Sherlock, a hospital therapy dog.
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Photo courtesy of lulug.strong Instagram
Lulu Gribbin
It has been seven weeks since Lulu Gribbin lost her hand and leg in a shark attack in Fla.
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Photo courtesy of the city of Mountain Brook Facebook page
Saturday marks one year since Lulu Gribbin nearly lost her life in a shark attack that left her a double amputee. She has battled through multiple surgeries, adapted to a new way of life — and now, she has her sights set on running.
Gribbin lost part of her left arm and part of her right leg in the attack on June 7, 2024. She was one of three people injured in shark attacks that took place within two hours and four miles of each other along the Florida Panhandle’s 30A corridor, between Panama City Beach and Destin. McCray Faust, another teen from Mountain Brook, sustained minor injuries to her foot.
Gribbin lost two-thirds of her blood and may not have survived if not for the quick thinking of medical professionals who happened to be nearby when the attack occurred.
She returned home to a new life in Mountain Brook last August after receiving expert care in Florida and North Carolina. Since then, her recovery has been nothing short of remarkable.
Gribbin spoke about the experience during a TEDxYouth@MBJH event in February. Her mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, also documented the family's journey to recovery on CaringBridge.
In the past year, she has mastered her golf swing after relearning how to walk, learned to drive with the help of an adapted car, returned to the basketball court, gone surfing and slalom skiing and even helped pass a new law.
Next on her list: running.
As of Wednesday, Gribbin was testing out an Ottobock knee joint and running blade prosthetic in therapy. she was able to pick up a light jog on the treadmill with some assistance from a harness.
As she continues make progress on her personal goals, Gribbin is also shining a light on others like her. She has became an advocate and launched a foundation, Lulu Strong, that offers vital support to children and families navigating traumatic injuries and life-altering challenges.
She's shown us all that becoming an amputee hasn't stopped her from living life. And with appearances at the Reese's Senior Bowl, SEC gamedays, golf tournaments and brand collaborations, she's had the opportunity to represent the amputee community on some pretty big stages.
