Photos courtesy of The Georgia Sea Turtle Center and Christy Gotsch

Meredith, meet Duffy. Meredith is a 6-year-old animal lover from Georgia. Duffy is a lady loggerhead turtle who had a life-or-death problem.

Duffy had an unlucky run-in with a motor boat. All loggerheads, sadly, are now endangered. Too many of them, like many sea turtle species around the world, have been seriously injured in crashes with ocean-going vessels. Duffy came out of her accident with a mangled flipper. Luckily for this loggerhead, Meredith and her family were the right folks in the right place at the right time.

Georgia boasts a lovely necklace of islands off its coast. Meredith, her parents, and her little brother, Grant, found Duffy along the sands of St. Simon’s Island. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is on Jekyll Island, just south of St. Simon’s. Meredith has visited the Center with her family and on school trips. That’s how she knew what to do when she saw Duffy in distress. Meredith placed a jiffy-quick call to 1-800-SAVE ME, the stranded sea turtle hot line in Georgia. The Center sent its unmistakable orange and white van out right away.

When the veterinary team arrived, they gingerly hoisted Duffy into the specially designed van and sped off to Jekyll Island. Meredith’s family’s car followed close behind, forming a caravan, and soon they arrived at the Sea Turtle Center. Duffy was checked into the Treatment Center right away. A helper at the Center explained that this space “is kind of like a doctor’s office.” Veterinarians here inspected Duffy, drawing blood, taking x-rays, and giving the animal a special turtle Powerade for strength. “We have a lot to figure out as we inspect them,” explained the helper. “It’s more challenging than human medicine because, of course, turtles can’t tell you what’s wrong.”

Duffy spent the night in the Center’s dry dock, or rest area. The next day, she was moved to the Rehabilitation Pavilion, a busy, well-lit room with nine tubs holding nine turtles. The Center’s goal is to bring sea turtles such as Duffy back to health so that they’re eating live sea animals, such as crabs and whelks, again just like they’d eat in the wild. At first, inside a bath of freshwater, Duffy was tube-fed a “fish milk shake,” a nutritious and magic potion for recovering sea turtles. As soon as she could, Duffy started eating softer food like filleted fish. Once she was ready, it was on to live prey.

The mood is usually serious at the Turtle Center. The veterinary crews know precious critters’ lives depend on them. Every day, the doctors cleaned Duffy’s wounds. They treated her flipper with a mixture of human medicine and honey. Day after day, week after week, month after month, Duffy slowly and surely became herself again. “I am so happy that she’s going to get better,” exclaimed Meredith. “I was so worried about her!”

At long last, May is here. Meredith and her family are told that their favorite loggerhead is well enough to return to the sea. For Meredith, after nearly a year of watching and waiting, the morning of Duffy’s release is cause for both celebration and a hint of sadness. Meredith and her family join workers from the Center, youth groups, vacationers, and reporters along Jekyll Island’s beach. Center helpers remind everyone that they won’t truly say goodbye to Duffy this morning. Duffy has been fitted with two devices that will allow scientists and vets to trace her travels to make sure she’s doing well.

As Duffy heads home, there’s a burst of excitement from the crowd. Meredith is quiet. “I’m proud of being able to help,” she says. The little girl who started it all knows that, in an important way, she’s given nature a helping hand.

Jack & Jill adopted their very own loggerhead turtle, Bitsy. You can follow her and other rescued sea turtles at at seaturtle.org.