Boy attacked by shark still faces difficulties

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. - Three years after a shark nearly killed him in the Florida Panhandle, 11-year-old Jessie Arbogast is "growing like a weed" but still uses a wheelchair and has trouble communicating, his aunt says.

Doctors offered little hope for Jessie after a shark bit through a thigh and ripped off an arm. The 8-year-old lost most of his blood in the July 6, 2001 attack.

"Jessie is speaking clearer words but no sentences," said his aunt, Diana Flosenzier of Hattiesburg.

Jessie's parents, David and Claire Arbogast, declined to be interviewed.

"At this point, they are seeking medical direction about future treatment and therapy," Flosenzier told the Sun Herald newspaper. "They are also struggling to get Jessie a larger wheelchair."

David Arbogast gave up his job as a tile setter and became Jessie's full-time caregiver. Claire Arbogast works as a medical code technician at an orthopedic center.

Jessie now eats the same meals as the rest of the family. "Some meats are run through a processor but he is not on a tube anymore," his aunt said.

He interacts with his two brothers and a sister with smiles and laughter.

Jessie has received homebound educational instruction and physical and speech therapy. The shark attack occurred at sunset as Jessie was frolicking with cousins about 15 yards offshore at Langdon Beach near Pensacola. The 61/2-foot, 200-pound bull shark bit Jessie's thigh, then clamped onto his right arm above the elbow.

His uncle, Vance Flosenzier, rushed over and grabbed the shark's tail. As he pulled, the boy's arm came off in the shark's mouth. A National Park Service ranger killed the shark with three gunshots to the head, and a forceps was used to retrieve the arm from the shark's gullet. It would be reattached during surgery at Pensacola Baptist Hospital.

Diana Flosenzier administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation to keep Jessie alive until he could be airlifted to the hospital.

[Last modified July 5, 2004, 23:26:10]