The Dorsal Fin

Florida’s WPTV.com is reporting that lifeguard Daniel Lund was honored with the Medal of Valor award from the U.S. Lifesaving Association for his efforts to rescue a kitesurfer who was bitten by a shark off of Stuart, Florida last February.

Lund paddled out to the victim after he noticed he was in distress, wrapped him in the canopy of the kiteboard, and paddled him back to shore on his rescue board. Tragically, the kiteboarder later passed away at the hospital.

Lund received the Medal of Valor for voluntarily risking his life in the attempt to save the life of another. Lund, himself, is a shark attack survivor who was bitten by a shark over 20 years ago.

WTPV.com reports that Lund did not take the rest of the day off after receiving the award at a ceremony, but instead suited up, grabbed his binoculars and rescue buoy and went to work.

Kudos to Daniel Lund for his selfless rescue effort!

WPTV is reporting that an investigation has been launched to determine if the victim of last week’s fatal shark attack off of Stuart, Florida was photographed by hospital employees at Martin Memorial hospital in violation of HIPPA.

Chief marketing communications officer, Miguel Coty, noted that while it is not uncommon for photos to be taken for documentation and educational purposes, the investigation is focused on why and for what purpose the photos were taken. Coty also stated that upon completion of the investigation, if it is determined that a violation of privacy occurred, it would be responded to with “swift and appropriate measures.”