Doctor shares his experiences helping teenagers in Alabama

“She was unconscious for a while”: Doctor reports on his help for teenager from Mountain Brook after shark attack

Updated: 7:53 a.m. CDT June 11, 2024

TONIGHT HER CONDITION REMAINS CRITICAL. UPDATED AT TEN. WE HEAR FROM ONE OF THE PEOPLE WHO HELPED GRIFFIN IN THE MOMENTS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ATTACK. TWO DOCTORS WHO WERE ON THE SAME BEACH RESPONDED TO ACTION WHEN THEY REALIZED WHAT WAS HAPPENING. WVTM 13 JARVIS ROBERTSON, LIVES LOCALLY. AFTER TALKING TO ORANGE BEACH DOCTOR WHO SAYS IT WAS TRULY A MIRACLE THEY WERE ABLE TO HELP. YES, DOCTOR RYAN FORBUS SAYS THE TEEN WHO HELPED THEM WHILE THEY TRY TO SAVE HER LIFE WAS ALWAYS AWARE. NOW HE PRACTICES FAMILY MEDICINE ON A NORMAL DAY. BUT WHEN THIS TRAUMA HAPPENED, HE HAD NO PROBLEMS TAKING ACTION THANKS TO HIS FORMAL TRAINING. NOW IT’S TRULY A MIRACLE THAT THE TWO DOCTORS, A NURSE AND A PARAMEDIC ALL PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THAT CRITICAL MOMENT. WE VACATION TO ROSEMARY EVERY YEAR WITH OUR FAMILIES, SAYS DR. RYAN FORBES. HE WAS BOOGIE BOARDING IN THE OCEAN WITH HIS SON AND SUDDENLY HEARD A JAMMER ABOUT 100 FEET AWAY FROM THEM. AND SAW PEOPLE COMING QUICKLY OUT OF THE WATER. AND WHEN I RAN TO THE SHORE AND LOOKED TO THE LEFT, I SAW, UH, WE SAW BLOOD IN THE WATER, ONE OF HIS BEST FRIENDS, WHO’S ALSO A DOCTOR, WAS THERE WITH HIS FAMILY WHEN THEY LIFTED THEIR CHILDREN OUT OF THE WATER, FORBES SAW SOMEONE PICK THE TEEN FROM MOUNTAIN BROOK OUT OF THE WATER TO LIVE NEAR THE BEACH, AND HAS BEEN DOING THIS FOR A LONG TIME. I’VE NEVER SEEN A SHARK ATTACK BEFORE. So, I mean, a lot of times you just go through your ABCs in your head, your airway, your bloodstream, trying to control these things that you’ve, you know, learned before in trauma, but that didn’t stop him from trying to help her. Once they got her to shore, they were able to, you know, start putting the tourniquet on so she could stop the bleeding and basically take care of her until first responders got there. Forbes says his friend, Dr. Muhammad Ali, lives in Jackson, Mississippi, and is an interventional radiologist. IT WAS DEFINITELY A GIFT FROM GOD THAT HE WAS THERE AND ABLE TO HELP BECAUSE ANYONE CAN CONTROL BLEEDING. I THINK DR. ALI IS PROBABLY THE RIGHT MAN TO DO IT, HE SAYS. THIS WAS A CASE WHERE EVERYONE HAD TO BE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME TO SAVE A LIFE. I THINK IT’S HUMAN NATURE THAT WE LOVE TO TAKE CARE OF EACH OTHER AND I THINK THAT LIMITED ONE THING. AND TO BE HONEST, I THINK IT WAS MAYBE GOD LOOKING OUT FOR US A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE, I MEAN, HOW OFTEN ARE YOU GOING TO HAVE A TRAUMA NURSE OR AN INTERVENTIONAL RADIOLOGIST OR A FAMILY DOCTOR? AND EVEN AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST WAS THERE IN CASE WE NEEDED AN AIRWAY. THEY HAD SOMETHING PROVIDED BY GRADY TRAUMA TEAM. THAT HAPPENED TO BE THERE. NOW DR. FORBES SAID HE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO THE YOUNG GIRL’S FAMILY. HE ALSO WISHES THEM ALL THE BEST IN THEIR RECOVERY. LIVE TONIGHT FROM THE MAGIC CITY.

“She was unconscious for a while”: Doctor reports on his help for teenager from Mountain Brook after shark attack

Updated: 7:53 a.m. CDT June 11, 2024

Two Mountain Brook teens are still recovering from a brutal shark attack on Rosemary Beach in Walton County, Florida. The Birmingham area and communities beyond have offered their support to the girls. Dr. Ryan Forbess is a family physician in Orange Beach and his friend Dr. Mohommad Ali is an interventional radiologist in Jackson, Mississippi. Their families were on vacation when it happened last week. Both men were enjoying some relaxing time in the ocean with their children when they heard a commotion happening not far from them. Suddenly, people rushed out of the water. Forbess told WVTM 13’s Jarvis Robertson that he quickly pulled his son out of the water for safety. When he got back to shore, he turned around and saw bloody water. >> WHAT WE KNOW: The Gulf Coast shark attacks There was plenty of panic and screaming, but there were also brave men and women ready to answer the call of someone in distress. Fifteen-year-old Lulu Gribbin’s condition didn’t look good at that moment, but that didn’t stop bystanders from doing what they knew how to do. “We were able to start preparing tourniquets and stop her bleeding,” Forbess said. “Basically, we cared for her until first responders arrived.” Trauma isn’t part of his everyday life. But his formal training undoubtedly made a difference. “You go through the ABCs in your head: airway, bloodstream, trying to control those things that you learned before in trauma care,” Forbess said. In addition to the Alabama doctor and his radiologist friend, a trauma nurse and an EMT also happened to be there to help. “Everyone was just random people on vacation, we all jumped in together. It was pretty amazing,” Forbess said. >> SHARK SAFETY: How to protect yourself and your loved ones Gribbin suffered significant injuries to an upper and lower extremity, both of which required tourniquets. She was flown by helicopter to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola, where she remains in critical condition. She later lost her left hand and part of her right leg. The second teen, McCray Faust, suffered a “flesh wound” to her right foot. On Saturday, David Vaughn, beach safety director for the South Walton Fire District, told CNN that the person, who suffered only minor injuries, had left the hospital.

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama —

Two Mountain Brook teenagers are still recovering from a brutal shark attack at Rosemary Beach in Walton County, Florida. The Birmingham area and communities outside the country have offered their support to the girls.

Dr. Ryan Forbess practices family medicine in Orange Beach and his friend Dr. Mohommad Ali is an interventional radiologist in Jackson, Mississippi. Their families were on vacation when it happened last week.

Both men were enjoying a relaxing time in the sea with their children when they heard a commotion not far from them. Suddenly, people rushed out of the water.

Forbess told WVTM 13’s Jarvis Robertson that he quickly pulled his son out of the water for safety reasons. When he got back to shore, he turned around and saw the bloody water.

>> WHAT WE KNOW: The shark attacks on the Gulf Coast

There was a lot of panic and screaming, but there were also brave men and women who were ready to answer someone’s cry for help.

Fifteen-year-old Lulu Gribbin’s condition did not look good at that moment, but that did not stop those around her from doing what they could.

“We were able to start putting tourniquets on her and stop the bleeding,” Forbess said. “Basically, we cared for her until EMS arrived.”

Trauma is not part of his everyday life. However, his training has undoubtedly made a difference.

“You’re going through the ABCs in your head: airway, circulation, trying to control these things that you learned before in trauma,” Forbess said.

In addition to the doctor from Alabama and his friend, the radiologist, an emergency room nurse and a paramedic also happened to be on site and helped.

“It was all just random people on vacation and we all jumped in together. It was pretty amazing,” Forbes said.

>> SAFETY FROM SHARKS: How to protect yourself and your loved ones

Gribbin suffered severe injuries to an upper and lower extremity, both of which required a tourniquet. She was flown by helicopter to Ascension Sacred Heart Pensacola, where she remains in critical condition. She later lost her left hand and part of her right leg.

The second teen, McCray Faust, suffered a “flesh wound” to his right foot. On Saturday, David Vaughn, beach safety director for the South Walton Fire District, told CNN that the person, who suffered only minor injuries, had been released from the hospital.