{"id":58986,"date":"2025-12-02T22:22:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/58986\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T22:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T22:22:13","slug":"kauai-lifeguard-bitten-by-shark-released-from-queens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/58986\/","title":{"rendered":"Kauai lifeguard bitten by shark released from Queen\u2019s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"COURTESY<\/p>\n

COURTESY THE QUEEN\u2019S HEALTH SYSTEMS<\/p>\n

Kauai lifeguard and shark bite survivor Chance Swanson smiled and waved as he was discharged from Queen\u2019s after a nearly month-long stay.<\/p>\n

Kauai lifeguard Chance Swanson, who was admitted to The Queen\u2019s Medical Center after surviving a shark bite at Hanalei Bay, has been released.<\/p>\n

Queen\u2019s shared that Swanson, 33, was discharged Monday after numerous surgeries to save his left leg.<\/p>\n

He had a big smile as he was wheeled down a hallway at Queen\u2019s in a wheelchair, his leg in a large cast, with staff cheering and holding balloons. He hugged the staff and thanked everyone for their care.<\/p>\n

Swanson was bitten Nov. 5 by a shark while surfing off-duty near the Pine Trees break at Hanalei Bay, which severed a major artery in his leg.<\/p>\n

He was initially treated at Wilcox Medical Center before being transported to Queen\u2019s in Honolulu, where a multidisciplinary team of surgeons and other professionals performed seven procedures, including reconstructive surgery to repair damaged blood vessels, muscle, and soft tissue.<\/p>\n

At a press conference at Queen\u2019s last month, Swanson shared that he was grateful <\/a>for all his family, friends, fellow lifeguards, doctors, and staff who have helped him through his journey to recovery.<\/p>\n

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Doctors said a tourniquet saved his life, as he had lost a significant amount of blood before his arrival at Queen\u2019s. They felt positive about his rehabilitation and ability to surf again, but said he faces a long recovery ahead.<\/p>\n

Swanson\u2019s mother, Rose Keaweamahi-Hoovler, shared in a GoFundMe<\/a> update that the U-shaped shark bite measured 31 centimeters.<\/p>\n

\u201cChance knows that the ocean is the shark\u2019s territory, and he has never once blamed the shark or has never said why me, as he\u2019s not that type of person!\u201d she wrote. \u201cHe\u2019s a waterman and knows the risks involved and what could happen when he enters the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Swanson said he is looking forward to his return home to Kauai, where he will continue his recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you for your prayers, love, and support,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m stoked if I could help people out there, you know, uplift them, shine a light on their life, and help them realize it\u2019s the small things in life (such as walking, brushing your teeth) that we take for granted every day that\u2019s super important.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COURTESY THE QUEEN\u2019S HEALTH SYSTEMS Kauai lifeguard and shark bite survivor Chance Swanson smiled and waved as he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58987,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[23417,9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-58986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-kauai","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}