Springs Boy Who Lost Arm In Shark Attack Says He Was Conscious The Whole Time
DENVER (CBS4) - A 16-year-old Colorado Springs boy attacked by a shark says he never saw the shark coming, and now he's ready to move on with his life.
CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh has been following Hunter Treschl's progress. He's upbeat and positive after just losing his left arm. He says he's not going to sit back and feel sorry for himself and vows to live a normal life.
From his hospital bed, Treschl talked about the future in a video interview released by the hospital where he's being treated in North Carolina.
"I've lost my arm obviously, so I have two options: I can try to live my life the way I was and make an effort to do that even though I don't have an arm, or I can just let this be completely debilitating and bring my life down and ruin it," he said.
The teen is one of two victims bitten in separate shark attacks in Oak Island, North Carolina on Sunday. His cousin helped him out of the water and he was rushed to the hospital.
"There were about 25 people there, it was actually quite a spectacle because I was conscious throughout the whole thing and kind of aware. I'd like to think I was aware at least," Treschl said. "They kind of got me ready for surgery and knocked me out and fixed my arm up. And they did a pretty good job of it from what I hear."
In the interview Treschl talks about feeling the shark come up to him.
"I felt it hit me on the left leg, like a big fish kind of hit you or something, then I felt it one more time, then it hit my arm. That was the first time I saw it, when it was biting up my left arm. Then he got that off eventually. I don't know if he swam away, but I was able to move. With the help of my cousin, I made it up onto the beach."
Now in recovery, Treschl says he has the options of feeling sorry for himself or being courageous.
"Out of those two, there's really only one that I would actually choose and that's to try to fight and live a normal life with the cards I've been dealt."
The teen thanked the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in North Carolina and says he can't wait to see his friends in Colorado Springs again.