http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/jessie.shtml

Boy homebound 3 years after shark attack
Associated Press

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Three years after a life-threatening shark attack
on a Pensacola beach, 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 his thigh
and ripped off his right 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
about the shark attack and the challenging recovery efforts of the past
three years.

"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 wheel chair. He has outgrown his chair."

David Arbogast gave up his job as a tile setter three years ago and became
Jessie’s full-time caregiver.

"Jessie has grown so much that David is the only one who can handle the
lifting," Flosenzier said. "Jessie is eating well and growing like a weed."

He now eats the same meals as the rest of the family, including two
brothers and a sister. "Some meats are run through a processor but he is
not on a tube any more," his aunt said.

"One new activity provides Jessie some opportunity to maneuver," she said.
"David places him on a blown-up mattress. Although he can’t sit up on his
own, he can roll over and crawl on the air mattress. That’s good to get him
out of a limited position."

He interacts with his brothers and sisters with smiles and laughter.

Jessie has received homebound educational instruction and physical and
speech therapy. "But the family has exhausted some possibilities and are
seeking new medical direction," said Flosenzier.

The shark attack occurred at sunset July 6, 2001. Jessie was frolicking
about 15 yards offshore at Langdon Beach near Pensacola when a 6‰-foot,
200-pound bull shark attacked, tearing off Jessie’s right arm above the
elbow.

His uncle, Vance Flosenzier, rushed to Jessie’s aid. He grabbed the shark’s
tail and held on tight. "I began to pull back and let my legs do the work,"
he said.

As he pulled the shark, the boy’s arm came off in the shark’s mouth. 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. In an interview last
year, Jessie’s mother, Claire, called the Flosenziers "the heroes who saved
Jessie’s life."

Claire, a medical code technician at an orthopedic center, said previously
that family members have come together to help with Jessie’s recovery.

"We’ve learned that you do what you have to do."