COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — The 16-year-old whose arm was amputated after a shark attacked him is looking to the future and trying to stay positive after being released from a North Carolina hospital.
“You don’t realize how difficult everyday tasks are, like opening a bag of chips,” Hunter Treschl told The Gazette in Colorado Springs (http://bit.ly/1G9eb8k). “It kind of makes you feel for those who don’t have that same ability and I want to help them however I can. It’s a very eye-opening experience.”
Hunter’s left arm was amputated below the shoulder after a shark attacked him Sunday in the water off the North Carolina coast. He was released from New Hanover Regional Medical Center Thursday.
“I’m doing pretty well overall,” he said. “But the painkillers certainly are helping.”
His mother, Sarah Treschl, said she would like to visit the Northwestern University Prosthetics-Orthotics Center to look into a prosthetic limb for Hunter. A family friend launched an online fundraiser campaign to help cover the costs.
While losing a limb comes with lots of changes, Hunter has one more pressing than others: learning how to write with his right hand before school starts.
“School’s coming up, so I gotta figure that out,” said Treschl, 16, who’s entering his junior year at Thomas MacLaren School. “I’m confident that I’ll be able to do it.”
Also attacked that day was 12-year-old Kiersten Yow of Asheboro, North Carolina. She lost her left arm below the elbow and suffered a leg injury. A statement from her family on the website of N.C. Children’s Hospital in Chapel Hill says she remains in good condition.
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Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
