SAN DIEGO — A green sea turtle was rescued on Mission Beach last year.
Jenny Smith is on the SeaWorld San Diego team that helped save her.
"She was extremely lethargic and not moving much," said Smith. "She had a long road ahead of her. We noticed she had an impacted stomach. She had two surgeries. We provided 24-hour care because she was extremely sick."
They named the turtle “Lefty" because she was missing a portion of her left rear flipper.
Lefty spent more than a year in rehab.
"She was impacted full of red algae. We removed a bag about this big from her stomach," said Smith.
SeaWorld staff assisted Lefty in eating properly and took care of her 24-7 until she was strong enough to swim in pools on her own; which simulated her natural environment.
Now that Lefty has a clean bill of health, the rescue team is returning her back into the ocean on their rescue boat fittingly called “Second Chance."
"It's emotional just to see an animal get a second chance and turn a corner and see how a sea turtle should eat, dive, swim and grow. I think she captured many of our hearts," said Smith.
"Bye Lefty!" the SeaWorld San Diego rescue team cheers as Lefty swam in the ocean.
SeaWorld surpassed its 40,000th rescue this year. Lefty was one of the success stories.
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