Shark Bite Survivor, 8, Hospitalized

A boy whose right arm was reattached after being bitten off by a shark is back in the hospital after a bout of vomiting, a hospital spokesman said Thursday.

Eight-year-old Jessie Arbogast had been slowly improving at home until the weekend, when he was returned to Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital.

“He is still not able to speak. He is still not walking,” said Sacred Heart spokesman Mike Burke. He added that Jessie is awake, but doctors remain uncertain how seriously his brain was damaged by blood loss from the attack.

Doctors were conducting tests to determine the cause of the vomiting. Burke said he expected the boy, who lives in Ocean Springs, Miss., to remain in the hospital for a few more days.

On July 6, a 6 1/2-foot bull shark tore a chunk from Jessie’s right thigh and bit off his arm as the boy’s uncle grabbed the predator by the tail.

Doctors reattached the arm. It was removed from the shark’s gullet after the uncle dragged the shark onto the beach at the Gulf Islands National Seashore near Pensacola.