Fishing was 11-year-old Brodie Dituri\u2019s favorite hobby. But while visiting a Marion County fishing camp last month, he lost his right hand to an alligator attack \u2014 which could have been worse if his father had not tackled the beast.<\/p>\n
Now, after having returned home to Mifflintown, a small town in the center of Pennsylvania, Brodie faces a long recovery as he adapts to life without his hand and works to relearn how to do his other great love: play baseball.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that Brodie was able to survive is a testament to his father and to him \u2026 it\u2019s unreal,\u201d said Andrew Wright, the boy\u2019s uncle.<\/p>\n
Wright said Brodie was fortunate to survive, especially as another gator attack<\/a> in Central Florida the next day was fatal.<\/p>\n \u201cThe recovery for Brodie, not just physically but mentally, is going to be a long road for him,\u201d he said of the preteen. \u201cIt\u2019s a complete shift of everything that he\u2019s ever known at 11 years old\u2026absolutely gut wrenching.\u201d<\/p>\n Brodie and his father had come to Florida on vacation and visited Nelson Fish Camp on June 27. The boy had just caught a fish and was releasing it back into the water when a nearly 9-foot-long alligator swam out from under the dock he was on and bit his hand, according to Wright.<\/p>\n His father jumped onto the alligator and tried to pry its mouth open, causing the animal to roll around, further tear Brodie\u2019s hand and break the boy\u2019s arm. While the boy was eventually freed, his right hand had to be amputated at the wrist after two surgeries.<\/p>\n Brodie\u2019s mother flew down from Pennsylvania to be with him in the hospital. The family flew back home over the July 4th weekend, Wright said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been doing great. Very determined to do stuff on his own without help,\u201d Wright said. \u201cSince being out of the hospital [there\u2019s been] a big shift in him to be a lot more determined and a lot more positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Wright has organized a GoFundMe page<\/a> to support him, saying he\u2019s grateful for the response it has already received from the community. As of Monday it had raised over $17,000 of its $25,000 goal.<\/p>\n The gator that attacked Brodie was later captured and euthanized.<\/p>\n