Photo via Instagram
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Gribbin smiles during a rehab session in the hospital soon after being fitted with her first prosthetic hand and leg.
Nick Saban has played golf with world champions, CEOs and celebrities since stepping away from the sidelines. But one swing this spring left him humbled.
“I saw her actually play golf when we played in the Regions Tradition tournament, and she teed off with us on 17,” Saban told a crowd at his Nick’s Kids Foundation luncheon in Tuscaloosa. “It was unbelievable that she can be able to come back from all the circumstances that she’s had to deal with and be able to hit a golf ball better than I hit it, which is hard for me to admit, but it is true.”
Photo by ABC News
Lulu Gribbin describes the shark attack that changed her life during an interview with Michael Strahan on ‘Good Morning America’ on Sept. 17.
Not long after that, Lulu Gribbin found herself on one of the biggest stages in America. Sitting across from Michael Strahan on “Good Morning America,” the Mountain Brook teenager gave her first major interview in more than a year, speaking with striking honesty about the 2024 shark attack in Florida that took her left hand and right leg.
“I raised my hand out of the water and there just was no hand there,” she told Strahan on the morning of Sept. 17.
Her twin sister, Ellie, recalled rushing to her side in waist-deep water.
“I was just like, ‘You got this. You can do it,’” she said on national television.
For Mountain Brook, seeing a hometown student on “Good Morning America” was remarkable enough. But it was Lulu’s courage — her ability to describe in detail a moment most would rather forget — that made the interview unforgettable.
A HERO’S WELCOME
The town already knew the kind of spirit Lulu carried as she fought for her life and then her recovery in hospitals in Florida and North Carolina. When she returned home in August 2024, Mountain Brook turned out in force. Lulu waved from the back of a golf cart, using her new prosthetic arm to acknowledge the crowd. Purple ribbons and flags lined the streets. Police cruisers led the way as thousands of residents cheered.
“Lulu is my idol,” declared 11-year-old Emma Jayne Danella, who strained for a glimpse with her friend, Emmy Barrett.
“She is somebody to look up to,” Emmy added. “She got bit by a shark and survived and kept working and never gave up through it all.”
That parade marked the end of a hospital stay — but the beginning of a new chapter.
A FULL YEAR
In the months since, Lulu has filled her life with milestones that go well beyond survival. She returned to the Gulf Coast and climbed onto a surfboard. She played tennis and water-skied. She climbed mountains, threw out the first pitch at the SEC Baseball Championships and attended the NCAA Final Four.
Photo courtesy of Lulu Gribbin
Lulu Gribbin sits in her specially equipped car.
She received a specially equipped car and her driver’s license. She met celebrities, including Carolina Panthers quarterback and Alabama Heisman winner Bryce Young. She got a gift mailed to her from Taylor Swift. She launched her own brand of coffee to raise money for her Lulu Strong Foundation.
Oh, and she went back to Mountain Brook High for her junior year, balancing classes with sports and a growing schedule of public appearances.
Those appearances have taken her from national television to conference stages. On Sept. 17, while her interview aired on “Good Morning America,” she was in Mobile as keynote speaker for the Community Foundation of South Alabama Women’s Forum at the Saenger Theatre.
Photo courtesy of United Ability
Gribbin delivers a keynote speech at the AT Alabama Conference in Birmingham on Sept. 16. Gribben spoke about how assistive technology helps her live a life full of possibilities.
The day before that, she was in Birmingham delivering the keynote at the Assistive Technology Alabama Conference.
“There are so many people in the world that require assistive technology,” Lulu told the BJCC audience. “I encourage them to be strong and to never give up, because wherever there is a storm, there is always a rainbow.”
She is advocating for “Lulu’s Law,” a proposed national alert system to notify beachgoers of nearby shark attacks. And through the Lulu Strong Foundation, she is raising money to advance prosthetic technology and make innovations more affordable.
Photo by ABC News
Lulu Gribbin and her family on the set of ‘Good Morning America’ with co-host Michael Strahan.
On “Good Morning America,” Lulu explained the motivation behind the effort:
“We feel like the virtual reality for the leg would help other amputees, so really more innovation and research within technology for the amputee space,” she said.
Her sister Ellie echoed that mission on GMA.
“Lulu had such a different experience than most do. So we want to take that to others,” she said, noting that the foundation will focus on giving more amputees access to advanced treatments.
GRACE AND GRATITUDE
Photo courtesy of Lulu Gribbin via Instagram
Lulu Gribbin, center, accepts the Bigger Than the Game Award from Nick Saban, left, and Terry Saban.
At Nick’s Kids Foundation, where she received the Bigger Than the Game Award, Lulu spoke about what she’s learned.
“I really admire the Saban family,” she told the crowd. “Especially Miss Terry, because she’s so graceful. And that’s something I really learned throughout my journey, is that I have to give myself grace and I have to be patient and I have to be confident in myself. Because it doesn’t matter that I have one leg and one arm. That doesn’t define who I am. It’s who I am on the inside.”
On the one-year anniversary of her attack, she summed it up on Instagram:
“Be grateful. Always smile and encourage others. Live life to the fullest. Rely on God.”
And that’s where Lulu Gribbin’s story rests today — not in loss, but in life.
