07/01/2018   Turtle was found in the surf at Longboat Key and was transported to Mote for rehabilitation.   Animal is in good body condition and has no external injuries.  However, animal is extremely lethargic and showing neurologic symptoms consistent with Red Tide toxicity.  Blood work was run and turtle was given subcutaneous fluids to help with rehydration and flush out toxins.  Due to weakness and neurologic signs, animal was dry-docked overnight.

07/02/2018  Neurologic symptoms are slightly improved today so Independence was moved to a rehabilitation pool in shallow water.  Further blood work was run, and animal will be given subcutaneous fluids daily until he is eating and neurologic symptoms improve.

07/04/2018 Happy "Independence" Day.  Turtle is occasionally biting at prey items, but is not eating yet.  He has started defecating and passing small amounts of shells.  He also has started swimming around more.

07/07/2018  Independence ate some squid today.

07/13/2018  Independence is actively foraging for all prey items.  Rehab. pool is now at full depth and he is much more active and spending much of the day swimming.

08/02/2018  Independence was satellite tagged and released off Anna Maria Island today.   He can be tracked at seaturtle.org.