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Whatever
Happened...
Q: Whatever happened to the boy attacked by a shark while surfing off the Big Island last year? Big Island shark-bite
victim has returned
to the surfA: It took Jesse Spencer less than four months to recover enough from a shark bite to hit the surf once again.
Spencer, now 17, was attacked by a 10-foot tiger shark on Oct. 1, 1999, while surfing at Old Kona Airport Park at dusk. In a bite that went to the bone, the shark severed nerves, ligaments, tendons and muscles in Spencer's right arm.
Spencer said he started surfing again on Jan. 29, after completing a series of four surgeries. "It feels good," he said.
He still goes to physical therapy twice a week. Movement in his wrist and elbow is coming along, and he's already able to use his arm in the water.
"I can paddle and I use it to help me get up," he said. "I can't grab the board and push up completely, but I kind of use my elbow to push up."
Surviving a shark attack made Spencer a celebrity of sorts, with articles in People and Surfer magazines and an appearance as an extra on "Baywatch Hawaii." But he doesn't care for the attention. "I don't really like it that much," he said. "I don't really like being that public with anything, but whatever."
Spencer will return to Kealakehe High School as a senior next week. After graduation, he plans to take a break from school and work for a year before heading off to college.
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