'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton Gives Birth to Baby Boy

Carrie Dedrick | Updated: Jun 16, 2015

'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton Gives Birth to Baby Boy

Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton has given birth to a healthy baby boy. 

Hamilton survived a shark attack in 2003 that severed her left arm to her shoulder. Miraculously, Hamilton returned to surfing only three weeks after the attack. The shark attack is documented in her autobiography “Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fight to Get Back on the Board” as well as the movie “Soul Surfer.” 

Life News reports Hamilton, now 25, gave birth to her son with husband Adam Dirks by her side. 

The couple named the baby Tobias after his great-grandfather. The name means “the goodness of God,” according to a Facebook post on Hamilton’s official page

Prior to the birth of her son, Hamilton said that she was not worried about conquering motherhood with only one arm. 

“I’ve been thinking about it, but I often forget that I have one arm. When I think about it, a squirming baby and changing the diaper… I think how I live life, just adjust and adapt to different things, especially things that are a lot easier with two arms. There’s going to be things that will be very challenging with one arm, but I’ll just have to find my own way to take care of this baby. Of course, I’ll have Adam to help, but if he’s out and about busy, I’ll have to… figure it out and be creative,” she said in an interview with People Magazine. 

Publication date: June 16, 2015



'Soul Surfer' Bethany Hamilton Gives Birth to Baby Boy