Resilient 12-Year-Old Bounces Back From Gator Attack

A Louisiana boy is in stable condition after losing his left arm in an alligator attack.

A trail leads to the edge of Crystal Lake, the site of an alligator attack near Slidell, La., July 31, 2008. The alligator, inset, estimated at 500 pounds and 10-feet-8-inches long, bit off the arm of 12-year-old Devin Funck.

(AP Photo)

Devin Funck, 12, remains under close watch at the Ochsner Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in New Orleans.

"He is very much 'I want to get better, I want to get better fast,'" family friend Cory Dunn told ABC News Monday.

"He pushes the expectations that the family has given him," Dunn said, calling Devin his hero.

Few men could endure the same ordeal with as much bravery, Dunn said.

Devin was swimming July 30 with two friends at a pond near Slidell, La., when the kids noticed an alligator approaching. As the alligator attacked Devin, the two friends rushed to a nearby house where the homeowner called 911.

St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Deputies Ben Godwin and Gordon Summerlin responded within minutes and rescued the boy.

Deputy Howard McCrea, along with the fire department and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, shot the alligator and retrieved the arm.

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"He is so thankful for the people that came to his aid and worked as fast as they did to help him," Dunn said.

Devin knows it was the quick responses by the police, sheriff, hospital and friends that saved his life, Dunn said.

In a statement released Friday, Leron Finger, Devin's physician, said that the doctors were unable to attach the limb and that the boy had lost his left arm at the shoulder and suffered multiple wounds to his torso.

But Devin remains positive. "He's optimistic and ready to do what he has to do to get out of there," Dunn said.

When asked what might cheer him up, the avid dog lover, NASCAR fan and paintball player requested only a laptop computer to stay in touch with friends while he's in the hospital, Dunn said.

Now focusing on the boy's recovery and future, Dunn and the Funck family have set up the Devin Funck fund through the Capital One Bank so that volunteers can assist with the Funcks' medical expenses.

Donations would help cover the costs of prosthetics, hospital stays and possible future operations as the young boy grows.