Bethany Hamilton mourns loss of her 3-year-old nephew Andrew who died days after drowning accident

KAUAI, HAWAII: The 34-year-old professional surfer, Bethany Hamilton, is mourning the loss of her nephew. On Saturday, October 19, Hamilton announced the death of her nephew Andrew, who had been in the hospital after a drowning incident on October 11.

She conveyed the solemn news to her Instagram followers, following the child's father, Timothy Hamilton, who announced his son's loss on his own Instagram account. As per Timothy's post, Andrew was born on December 26, 2020, and had reached the age of three.

Bethany Hamilton honors her nephew Andrew after his death

"The Lord has received my sweet nephew Andrew into his beautiful care," Bethany penned. "While my family and I will miss him dearly, we trust that his joy is full with Jesus."

The surfer shared a prayer and several photos of the young boy, expressing gratitude to her supporters for their love, prayers, and support during this challenging time, "all for the love, prayers and support in this trying time."

After announcing Andrew's death on Saturday, October 19, Bethany shared a photo of the young boy lying peacefully with her, which she mentioned was captured "the other day."

"Andrew is and was loved so well," she wrote. "His joy is full in the Lord."

On Friday, Oct. 18, Andrew's father announced on Instagram the passing of his son, "succumbing to injuries sustained a week prior in a drowning accident, after all of the best life-saving interventions had been exhausted."

Andrew is mourned by his mother Kyah, siblings Thomas, Joshua, Matthew, Noelle, and John, as well as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, according to Timothy's post.

"It hurts terribly, and we miss Andrew more than words can express. But we do not mourn as those who have no hope," Timothy wrote. "We rejoice in the certain hope of the glory of God, into whose name Andrew was baptized."

Bethany Hamilton shared updates on her nephew Andrew's condition after he drowned

Last week, Bethany updated on Instagram about her "sweet" and "precious" nephew's condition, revealing in an October 12 post that Andrew had drowned on the evening of October 11.

She previously stated that Andrew was airlifted to a hospital in Oahu, Hawaii, the following morning, likely referring to the Kapiʻolani Medical Center for Women & Children in Honolulu.

In her post, Bethany stated that Andrew still had "a heartbeat" and "fight in him."

“We are wrecked,” she wrote at that time. “But I know how proper medical support can make or break someone’s chance of survival and in this case we’re asking for help from anyone who has information of what we can do to give my nephew the best chance.”

According to a report by PEOPLE, Bethany reached out to Dr Paul Harch, a Louisiana-based doctor and expert in hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), through her post, as she updated.

The Mayo Clinic describes the therapy as “a well-established treatment for decompression sickness, a potential risk of scuba diving" and involves "breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized environment.”