N.C. shark attack survivor lights up social media with positive outlook
Even after losing an arm, Hunter Treschl is smiling.
The 16-year-old, one of two teens who survived a pair of rare shark attacks over the weekend, is inspiring people across the Web after giving an interview Tuesday from his hospital bed at the New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
The teenager appeared to be in remarkably , smiling wryly as he described how he hadn't seen the shark coming.聽鈥淚 was just in about waist-deep water, I would say, playing with my cousin,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I felt this kind of hit on my left leg.鈥�
聽Instead of letting the attack 鈥渞uin his life,鈥� Treschl said he had come to terms with his loss and made the decision to 鈥渇ight and live a normal life.鈥�
鈥淪o I kind of 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 kind of just let this be completely debilitating and bring my life down ...鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 really only one I would actually choose.鈥�
The parents of Kiersten Yow, a 12-year-old girl who had also lost part of her arm in a shark attack shortly before Treschl and is receiving treatment at聽NC Children's Hospital at the University of North Carolina, told reporters聽that聽she had They thanked doctors who had told her she would likely be able to keep one of her legs, which was also injured.
Treschl also expressed gratitude about the medical treatment he had received. 鈥淭here was about 25 people in this room, and they kind of got me ready for surgery and then knocked me out, and uh, fixed my arm up. Did a pretty good job on it too, from what I hear,鈥� he said. 鈥淔eels good.鈥�
鈥淭his guy is wise beyond his years. What a great attitude,鈥� about his story on ABC News.
鈥淭hat moment when you realize a 16-year-old young man is tougher than you are. I wish him the best in his recovery!鈥� said another.
Many patients have described maintaining a positive outlook as key to their recovery. It's a way of taking back control, Steven Lewis, a cancer survivor and author of 鈥淭he Ripple Effect: How a Positive Attitude and a Caring Community Helped Save My Life.鈥�
鈥淚 call this 'the power of choice,' and I believe patients can take this route to empower themselves through severe, life-threatening disease and other life challenges,鈥� wrote Lewis in a . 鈥淟ooking back, I understand that I ultimately made a choice to be a survivor rather than a victim.鈥�
In responses to Treschl鈥檚 interview, many social media users likened his story to the tale of Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer who lost her arm in a shark attack in 2003. Hamilton, who had been 13 at the time of the attack, returned to professional surfing. In 2004, she published a book about her comeback, the autobiography "Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board," which was made into a movie in 2011. Hamilton聽 on Monday.
