Matthew Lidle was playing in the sand at the water’s edge with his 8-year-son when he heard screams.

His wife and his in-laws were in the water at Seacrest Beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast when the chaos erupted Friday afternoon – two separate shark attacks left a 45-year-old Virginia woman critically injured, as well as 15-year-old Lulu Gribbin of Mountain Brook.

Lulu’s friend, 16-year-old McCray Faust, also a Mountain Brook High School student, was bitten also, but is OK.

The attacks happened less than two hours and four miles apart along the popular vacation stretch known as 30A.

Lidle was where the two teens were attacked.

“You just heard people screaming and I wasn’t sure why. And everybody on the shore was screaming too,’’ Lidle said. “They started yelling, ‘Shark, shark, shark,’ so I stood up right at the water break.”

“I saw this big pool of blood, about 50 yards out there, and everyone was just kind of standing there,’’ he said. “So, I ran out there. I didn’t think about anything, I just ran out.”

Lidle said he got to a man who was holding Lulu by her arm. She had been attacked by a shark while looking for sand dollars with friends near the sandbar.

“It looked like he was fighting off the shark or keeping her away from the shark,’’ he said. “He was right there where everything went down.”

Lidle yelled for the man to give Lulu to him.

“I just started screaming, ‘Give me the girl, give me the girl. We’ve got to get her back to the beach,’’ he said.

The man passed Lulu to Lidle. She was alert and conscious.

“She said, ‘I can’t walk,’ and that’s when I noticed all of her injuries,’’ Lidel said. “I was talking to her saying, ‘Stay with me, talk to me.’’’

“I was concerned because when I got to her, she wasn’t bleeding anymore,’’ he said. “That’s what’s scary about that – she had lost that much blood.”

Lidle got Lulu to shore where there were two doctors – Dr. Ryan Forbess and Dr. Mohammed Ali – and at least one nurse happened to also be vacationing that day and sprang into action.

“I was just part of the chain,’’ Lidle said. “I got her from where the attack happened to the beach.”

“As soon as I got to the beach, the professionals took over,’’ he said. “The two doctors there getting ready with blankets and tourniquets and towels.”

“We made sure we got her down to the sand properly,’’ Lidle said. “I hope I did the right thing.”

Lidle’s wife ushered him and their son away from the immediate scene, where everyone was crowded around Lulu and her friend, 16-year-old McCray Faust, who was bitten in the foot.

“That’s when everything got hysterical,’’ he said.

The Lidle family waited until both girls were transported to the hospital.

“We felt horrible for their family, for those girls,’’ Lidle said. “We hunkered down and packed up.”

Lulu was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola, immediately undergoing surgery.

Her mother, Ann Blair Gribbin, on Sunday provided details of the attack and her daughter’s condition on the Caring Bridge website.

“She was lifeless her eyes closed mouth white and pale. The wound on her leg or all that was left of her leg was something out of a movie,’’ Gribbin wrote. “I finally made it back to her and held her hand and she saw me, and I told her I was there.

“Her eyes were open. I had no idea how long she had been there or what had happened. Almost immediately the beach truck was there and the EMT’s loaded her onto a board and put her back in the truck and wheeled her off, she was air lifted away,” the post stated.

Surgeons told the family that the shark had bitten off Lulu’s left hand and that they had to amputate her right leg halfway up from her knee to her hip. She also had lost two-thirds of her body’s blood.

“I was so glad to hear she was alive because after seeing that, I wasn’t sure,’’ he said.

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Lidle and his family returned to Memphis the following day.

Through multiple channels, were finally able to get in touch with the Gribbin family and spoke with Lulu on the phone Monday from her hospital bed.

“She sounds great, considering what she’s been through,’’ Lidle said.

Lulu talked with him about what happened that day.

“She said it bit her friend first and then bit her hand, took her hand,’’ he said. “That’s when they started fighting off. It then came back and bit her in the leg and did all the damage there.”

Lidle said he’s so thankful he got to speak with her.

“I feel bad because I feel like her life got stolen from her,’’ he said, “but she seems to be in good spirits about it.”

“She made it,’’ Lidle said. “That’s the most important thing.”

Lidle’s wife, Rachel, posted about the attack on Facebook.

“Without giving it a second thought, Matt ran into the huge amount of blood in the ocean and carried her to shore putting his life in great danger,’’ she wrote. “I can’t express how much admiration I have for him.”

“I absolutely know God put there for a reason and it was Matt’s selfless sacrifice to help save her.”

Lidle said he’s no hero. “I was part of multiple people that were helping,’’ he said.

He described the ordeal as terrifying.

“I’ve thought about it every minute, all day long, since it happened Friday,’’ he said.

Lidle said he hopes to stay in touch with Lulu.

“For everything she’s gone through, she was very thankful and appreciative,’’ he said. “She had more energy than I thought she would.”

“She seemed very sweet and said she wanted to send me something,’’ Lidle said. “I plan to continue to follow her recovery. I would love to see her progress.”