HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Wednesday, Nov. 5, started out as a productive day for 33-year-old Chance Swanson.
“I got my safety checks for my car and trailer, and I painted my bathroom,” he said from his hospital bed at the Queen’s Medical Center.
The Kauai lifeguard was off duty when he decided to go surfing at a spot he frequents just outside of Hanalei Bay. After about 20 minutes in the water, and two good waves, he was setting up to catch another set when it happened.
“Next thing you know, something is just chopping down on my leg with so much force. I (couldn’t) see it, I couldn’t see where it was coming from, but I just knew it was a shark,” he said.
Adrenaline, and his faith kicked in.
“I lifted my leg up and I just … like ‘Oh no,’ and I said my prayers to Jesus Christ. I believe in God and he saved me,” he said.
For the next few minutes, he clung to his surfboard, trying to get the attention of those on shore, but was quickly growing weak until his fellow lifeguards Matt Milbrand and Kawai Davis came to his rescue.
Once I heard the ski bumping on the water, I thought I have a chance here,” he said.
“It was terrifying but I couldn’t feel a thing and my game plan was just to stay awake and try and make it visible to someone that I needed help. I was losing my vision. I was … really weak. I tried to tie my own tourniquet, and I couldn’t do it. I was so weak,” he said.
But it was a tourniquet tied by first responders that doctors say saved his life.
“The bite actually severed the main artery and vein going into that lower leg, and he lost quite a bit of blood, both in the process of getting off at the beach and in his surgeries,” Queen’s ICU and Trauma Surgeon Dylan Davey, M.D., said.
Swanson has already undergone a handful of surgeries, and a few more are planned. But his doctors are optimistic.
“He’s young healthy. He has the best attitude so he has the best recovery potential and the best rehabilitation potential,” Queen’s Plastic Surgeon Peter Deptula, M.D. said.
Through all of this, Swanson remains both positive and faithful, saying that this hasn’t changed his love for the ocean. And one day he hopes to get back in the water to do what he loves.
“Yeah I’m looking forward to getting back to a normal life riding and surfing and I think the Queen’s staff will help me get there,” he said.
Dr. Deptula added, “I think he’s on the right track. We got a little bit of work to do and we’re gonna stay vigilant with his case. You know we’re not gonna celebrate till again until he’s walking out the door.”
Swanson and his family also expressed great appreciation to the first responders, medical staff, and those who sent prayers and donations. His GoFundMe has raised more than $180,000.
And if being near death taught him anything, it’s this:
“It was like a mental block almost to tell my friends that I love them, and now it’s just it’s super easy to tell him I love em.”
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