Latest news with #Blosser
Miami Herald
14-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
9-year-old girl bitten by shark has ‘miracle' surgery at Florida hospital
A 9-year-old girl whose hand was nearly severed in a shark bite is now able to move all her fingers, according to a social media post from her family. The girl, Leah Lendel, was snorkeling off the coast of Boca Grande on Wednesday when the incident occurred, her family shared online. Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser told the Tampa Bay Times that Lendel was pulled from the water by bystanders and carried to a nearby road parallel to the beach. Blosser said emergency responders from Lee County Emergency Medical Services and the Boca Grande Fire Department arranged for air transport within ten minutes of arriving at the scene. Lendel was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, the region's only Level I trauma center. MORE: Shark attacks 9-year-old girl swimming off Florida's Gulf Coast, rescuers say According to updates shared on Instagram and in a public statement from the family, the shark bite left Lendel's wrist 'hanging on by just the skin.' Her mother, Nadia Lendel, wrote that surgeons inserted pins to stabilize her broken bones and transferred arteries from her leg to help restore blood flow to her hand. 'She thought she would lose her hand for good,' her mother posted. Leah underwent a lengthy surgery on Wednesday, according to the statement from her family. By the next morning, doctors restored movement in two of Lendel's fingers, though the rest of her hand remained numb, the statement said. Lendel's mother shared another update on social media Friday morning, saying that Lendel could move all her fingers and calling it a 'miracle.' She added that doctors decided Lendel did not need sedation and would change her cast to monitor the healing process. Blosser said shark bites are uncommon in the waters by Boca Grande, about 100 miles south of Tampa on Gasparilla Island. The last reported shark bite in the area occurred about five years ago, when a man was bitten after falling from a boat, he said. He said the risk can rise during tarpon season, when game fish draw sharks closer to shore. There's always some risk in Gulf waters, he said. 'But this is a very isolated incident.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
9-year-old girl bit by shark while snorkeling in Florida, family says
A 9-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten by a shark in the waters off Boca Grande, Florida, officials and her family said. The girl was swimming in the ocean with other family members around noon local time on June 11 when a shark bit her, Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a social media video. Emergency personnel responded to the scene, and she was airlifted to a local hospital, Blosser said. "The person was in the water at the time the bite occurred with other family members," he said. "They were able to get her out of the water and get her up on actually to the road." Blosser said the girl is the first swimmer bitten by a shark in the area in two decades. In 2024, there were 14 unprovoked shark bites in Florida, the most of any state, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. "These occurrences are limited, but there always is a potential," Blosser said. "I don't think it's a cause for alarm at this point." Family members identified the girl who was bitten by a shark off Boca Grande as 9-year-old Leah Lendel, according to Gulf Coast News and WBBH. The girl's mother, Nadia Lendel, wrote in a story on Instagram, where she has over 90,000 followers, that Leah was undergoing surgery. "Please keep our family in your prayers," the Instagram story reads. "Leah got bit by a shark today while snorkeling." According to a GoFundMe raising funds for Leah's medical expenses, the young girl was bitten on the hand while playing in the water with her siblings. "She is now stable and going through surgery - fighting hard for her road to recovery," the GoFundMe says. The fundraising page also said Leah's family does not currently have medical insurance, and they expect "the journey ahead will be long and full of physical and emotional healing." USA TODAY contacted Nadia Lendel for comment on June 12 but has not received a response. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 9-year-old girl survives shark attack in Florida
USA Today
12-06-2025
- Health
- USA Today
9-year-old girl bit by shark while snorkeling in Florida, family says
9-year-old girl bit by shark while snorkeling in Florida, family says According to a GoFundMe for the girl's family, she "had to be rushed to the hospital" after being bitten by a shark. Show Caption Hide Caption Shark attacks Montara State Beach surfer, chomps board A surfer survived a close encounter with a shark just off Montara State Beach over the weekend, though his equipment wasn't so fortunate. Fox - Ktvu A 9-year-old girl is recovering after being bitten by a shark in the waters off Boca Grande, Florida, officials and her family said. The girl was swimming in the ocean with other family members around noon local time on June 11 when a shark bit her, Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a social media video. Emergency personnel responded to the scene, and she was airlifted to a local hospital, Blosser said. "The person was in the water at the time the bite occurred with other family members," he said. "They were able to get her out of the water and get her up on actually to the road." Blosser said the girl is the first swimmer bitten by a shark in the area in two decades. In 2024, there were 14 unprovoked shark bites in Florida, the most of any state, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. "These occurrences are limited, but there always is a potential," Blosser said. "I don't think it's a cause for alarm at this point." Girl bitten by shark is 'fighting hard for her road to recovery' Family members identified the girl who was bitten by a shark off Boca Grande as 9-year-old Leah Lendel, according to Gulf Coast News and WBBH. The girl's mother, Nadia Lendel, wrote in a story on Instagram, where she has over 90,000 followers, that Leah was undergoing surgery. "Please keep our family in your prayers," the Instagram story reads. "Leah got bit by a shark today while snorkeling." According to a GoFundMe raising funds for Leah's medical expenses, the young girl was bitten on the hand while playing in the water with her siblings. "She is now stable and going through surgery - fighting hard for her road to recovery," the GoFundMe says. The fundraising page also said Leah's family does not currently have medical insurance, and they expect "the journey ahead will be long and full of physical and emotional healing." USA TODAY contacted Nadia Lendel for comment on June 12 but has not received a response. Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Windmill Park pickleball court a testament to power of community input
FAIRMONT — When the new pickleball court opened at Windmill Park, the last thing anyone suspected was Fairmont Mayor Anne Bolyard slicing a mean serve while wearing high heels. As it turned out, it was even a surprise to Bolyard, who hasn't played in 25 years. But the skills only lay dormant, waiting for a chance to reveal themselves on her hapless opponents. 'This was my first attempt at pickleball, trying something new for me,' Bolyard said. 'Wearing heels made my first time playing pickleball even more memorable. I am excited to start learning more about the sport and playing at Windmill Park.' The City of Fairmont cut the ribbon on a new pickleball court in a ceremony at Windmill Park Friday at noon. After the dedication, City Manager Travis Blosser and Bolyard played a few doubles rounds against a few city employees. The court is a repurposed basketball court that had fallen into disrepair. 'Pickleball, it's a craze right now,' Blosser said. 'Everybody is into it, it's like tennis. My understanding is it's like tennis but a little smaller, not as intensive.' Blosser said the city ripped out the old basketball courts which were not being utilized to build the court. They left some space around it for amenities to be added later, he said. In total, the city has spent $3 million worth of upgrades to city parks in fiscal year 2024-25, and Blosser said next fiscal year the city plans on doubling that investment. And so far, the city is excited to show off the work it has put into the parks to its residents. Blosser said it was important for residents to have access to these amenities. 'West Virginians, sometimes we're not the healthiest,' he said. 'So having these opportunities to get outside to enjoy some physical activity is beneficial from a health standpoint.' Windmill Park, in particular, has been the focus of a lot of improvements this year. The park was a sore spot between residents of the Belleview neighborhood and the city. As a neighborhood that was historically where many Black families lived, residents charged the park's neglect was racial in nature. The neglect persisted through sheer inertia, maintaining itself through previous iterations of otherwise well meaning municipal governments. In 2024, Blosser's administration declared they would face the disinvestment head on and finally give the park the care its residents demanded. The city stayed true to its word, and held community input sessions where one of the requests was to build a pickleball court. Blosser updated city council with regular status reports on the progress at Windmill Park. 'Opportunities for physical activity and trying something new are important aspects to community life,' Bolyard said. 'These types of opportunities need to be available to all and that is reflected in the city's work in our parks over the last year. The continued investment in our parks is one of many ways we are committed to expanding opportunities for all.' District Four Councilmember Anthony Horton said the change has been noticed. He's lived in the area for 50 years. 'Our community is actually using this thing everyday,' Horton said. 'Children from the neighborhood use it everyday. The city is really playing its part.'
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
East Side park gets upgraded as 'great gathering spot for families'
FAIRMONT — Like many residents in Fairmont, Mayor Anne Bolyard has a personal connection to the dolphin and turtle at Morgantown Avenue Mini Park in East Side. "I played on that park myself, as a young person when spending summers with my grandmother," Bolyard said. "So to see that generational place in the neighborhood for families and children continue to expand, that would be a paramount takeaway from yesterday for me." On Monday, the City of Fairmont and the Rotary Club of Fairmont celebrated groundbreaking on improvements for the mini park, for which the Rotary Club donated $25,000. As a result, the park will be known as the Rotary Club of Fairmont Mini Park. The total cost of the improvements will land around $90,000, and represent a portion of roughly $3 million which Bolyard said the City was putting into its park system this fiscal year. "This is the latest announcement in our plan to update and revitalize all our municipal parks," City Manager Travis Blosser said in a press release. "This $25,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Fairmont sets a new standard for relationships with our community partners, and we hope to continue this relationship and have other partners follow suit." What the City will also follow suit on is its preservation of the park's famous dolphin and turtle. Blosser confirmed the dolphin would receive a nice spa day on Facebook, and said the kids from East Park put him on notice that nothing better happen to it or the turtle. "She is staying!!!" Blosser promised on Facebook. Bolyard said the City is looking at doing one better. "The City will have something to celebrate their rejuvenation and treatment," she said. "There'll be a contest and events surrounding the dolphin and the turtle. They've been there since the 80s, as long as I can remember as a younger child playing on them." Julie Sawyer, Fairmont Rotary Club President, said the club was able to donate because it had excess money from its Fly the Flag fundraising project in Fairmont. She said the group decided to put that money back into the community, and after tossing a few ideas around, they decided a playground would be a good idea. They reached out to the City of Fairmont to see if they could partner on anything the City was doing. "We were thrilled, we're honored to be able to play a role in this renovation and improvement of the Morgantown Avenue Mini Park, which is now going to be called the Rotary Club of Fairmont Mini Park," Sawyer said. The park's improvements include two new playsets, new mulch and border, new paved pathways, a replacement water fountain and the installation of a second fountain, a new pavilion and new security cameras. The improvements will allow the park to continue serving the next generation of Fairmont residents. "The mayor grew up in that area, Travis grew up in that area," Sawyer said. "They talked about how they played in that park and it's a place where children learn and grow and families come together and neighbors can gather. I know they're putting in a pavilion so that's going to be a great gathering spot for the people of the community."
