Great white shark attack survivor Keane Webre-Hayes was all smiles in the national television report showing him returning to school to answer questions from his classmates.
"Good Morning America" followed the 13-year-old and his mother as he stopped by school Wednesday and talked about the Sept. 29 attack on an Encinitas beach.
The teenager was diving for lobster at Beacon' Beach when an 11-foot-long shark injured his arm, ear, shoulder and back.
“The first thing that I said when my mom walked up was ‘Can you take pictures for Instagram’,” he told GMA.
He also said he wants to back out into the ocean to surf again soon.
Webre-Hayes made his first public appearance Saturday at Wags and Waves event to support the California Wildlife Officers Foundation.
He received a lifetime fishing license and lifetime fishing privileges from organizers of the event.
Webre-Hayes was rushed to Rady Children's Hospital in Linda Vista in critical condition after being bitten by the shark while swimming in shallow waters around 6:55 a.m.
His mother Ellie Hayes was watching her son from a parking lot on the bluffs above the beach and could hear her son's screams.
He was in serious condition for several days before being released from the hospital to continue recovering at home. Doctors and his family said that he had a long road to recovery in front of him.
A GoFundMe page has been created to help with Keane's medical bills.
Local
University of San Diego researchers said while shark sightings are becoming more frequent off the California coast, it is extremely rare for anyone in the world to be bitten.
"Great white populations are increasing in Southern California and that's because they've been legally protected for the last couple of decades," said USD marine biologist Andrew Nosal in a previous interview. "That's a good thing for our local ecosystem. At the same time, the human population has also grown here. That means more sharks at the beach but also more people at the beach."
Read more about the shark attack in San Diego here.
