The 17-year-old Koloa youth who lost his foot and ankle in a shark attack Monday was transferred to Queen’s Medical Center Tuesday afternoon for additional treatment following an allergic reaction to medication. Hokuanu Aki is still listed in stable condition,
The 17-year-old Koloa youth who lost his foot and ankle in a shark attack Monday was transferred to Queen’s Medical Center Tuesday afternoon for additional treatment following an allergic reaction to medication.
Hokuanu Aki is still listed in stable condition, according to a Wilcox Hospital spokeswoman.
Aki was alert Tuesday morning when television news crews from Honolulu videotaped him singing and strumming his ukulele from his hospital bed.
“I opened my eyes and I just seen the shark; it was just tossing me all over the place, ” he said, describing the shark attack. Aki said he remembers hearing his leg break during the attack, and hearing the bones snap.
“I remember I tried to open the mouth and get it off of me, that didn’t work,” he said. “I grabbed the shark’s eye and ripped it out and then it let me go.”
“I thought it was over. I thought I was going to die.”
But he found the strength to get to shore where a nurse visiting from Colorado and trained to treat trauma injuries was fortunately waiting to perform emergency treatment on his leg.
Aki said the nurse on the beach has already left the island but he had a message for her:
“I would like to thank the nurse that was at the beach. She saved my life.”
His doctors are hoping that he will be out of the hospital in 10 days. They said Tuesday they want him up and walking around as soon as possible.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Rovinsky of the Kaua’i Medical Clinic performed surgery on Aki’s leg.
County lifeguards will decide today if it’s safe to reopen the closed South Shore beaches.
Aki was attacked by what is believed to be a tiger shark Monday about 150 feet offshore at Brennecke Beach while bodyboarding in murky water conditions after rainstorms on the South shore. The popular body surfing and bodyboarding cove is located about 200 yards east of Po’ipu Beach Park.
Beaches within one mile in either direction of the beach remained closed Tuesday, and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has authorized the posting of shark warning signs along the shoreline between the Waiohai Beach Hotel and Brennecke Beach.
Aki, a senior at Kauai High School, is a fire knife dancer at the Kauai Coconut Beach Resort. He also plays the guitar, Tahitian drums, ukulele and keyboard, and is a Hawaiian music composer scheduled to compete in Star Quest (formerly known as Brown Bags to Stardom) on O’ahu May 4 and 5.
At Kauai High School he is also a member of the track team and football team.
The boy’s father, Harmon Aki, said his son was slowly remembering what happened.
“It was quite an ordeal for him, but he’s recovering and doing quite well,” he said.
Hoku’s family was by his side all morning Tuesday, according to Lyra Ransone, a friend of the Aki family. Dozens of Hoku’s classmates and friends gathered in the hospital waiting area with gifts of candy, flowers and balloons.
Mike Coots, a bodyboarder who survived a similar shark attack in 1997, also visited Aki. Coots said he came to give the Aki family his support and advice.
“I know exactly what he’s going through,” said Coots, “The toughest part is wanting to go out and be with your friends. I wanted to let him know that everything’s going to be OK.”
Coots was accompanied by Randy Honebrink of the DLNR’s Shark Task Force. Honebrink is on Kaua’i to study the attack and see what similarities there might be to Coot’s attack.
“I am happy to have my child alive and with us,” Hoku’s mother Kalei, said.
John Naughton, National Marine Fisheries Service biologist, noted that sharks have acute non-visual senses and a feeding advantage in murky water. Sharks may be more likely to come close to shore when the water is dirty to find green sea turtles to eat.
Fire Battalion Chief Bob Kaden warned that swimmers should be especially cautious when swimming in murky ocean water, and advised swimmers to stay away until the waters have cleared.
Researchers at the University of Florida’s International Shark Attack File recorded 76 unprovoked attacks worldwide in 2001, including four in Hawai’i. Hawai’i reported two shark attacks in 2000.
