"Soul Surfer" Bethany Hamilton once thought for sure that surfing was her one true passion in life. But after giving birth to her son Tobias Dirks last year, Hamilton realised that motherhood is something she cherishes more.
"When I first held him in my arms it was just immediate love, and you just know you would die for him," Hamilton, 25, told The Daily Mail. "It was instant love and so magical to hold a child that has grown inside me, knowing I had brought another life into the world."
The Christian athlete revealed that she "breezed" through her pregnancy since she did not suffer from any morning sickness and always felt great. As soon as Tobias came out, however, everything changed. Hamilton admitted that she was a bit taken aback when she first dealt with motherhood duties.
"Of course the sleep deprivation was hard, but learning to change his diapers with one arm has become harder the more active he gets," she shared. "I have to use my feet and the more he moves, the harder it is, so I have to try my best to distract him."
Hamilton lost her left arm to a shark attack when she was only 13 years old. Some people assumed that Hamilton's surfing career was through for good because of her condition, but she persevered. The values of hard work and determination are something that Hamilton hopes to teach her son someday.
"As soon as he's old enough, I'm going to explain how I ended up with one arm, but then tell him life got even better because of what happened to me," she said. "I want to show him a shark might have bitten off my arm, but that doesn't stop you in life; it just makes you even more determined and stronger."
