Hundreds gather in the Keys to cheer for rehabilitated turtle’s return to the sea

A large crowd erupted into cheers on Sombrero Beach to celebrate a turtle s effective release back into the ocean following its rehabilitation The turtle named Addie is a juvenile green sea turtle who swallowed a fish hook and had been rehabilitating at the Florida Keys Turtle Hospital since August She had a fishing hook deeply embedded in her esophagus the hospital s manager Bette Zirkelbach explained She was covered in fibropapilloma tumors Addie wasn t expected to survive After undergoing surgery she couldn t lift her head and spent a month on a shower bed undergoing physical therapy and being fed by a tube twice a day She even gave her curative association a scare needing to be resuscitated three different times during her stay Now on Earth Day she was met with cheers from a huge crowd as she made her way back into the Atlantic Ocean for a fresh start