Paul O’Leary, 54, recovering in Hilo Medical Center after being bitten by a shark while swimming. Photo: Hawaii News Now
It was just another typical day for 54-year-old Big Island resident Paul O’Leary. He headed down to his usual nudist beach for his usual naked swim, which he does most days during the week. But things changed when O’Leary, mid nude swim, was joined by an unwelcome guest.
O’Leary was 100 yards out when an unidentified species of shark began gnawing on his ankle, reports Hawaii News Now. He called to people on the sand to come help him when he realized what happened.
“My foot started acting kind of weird and was actually kind of twisting,” he told HNN. “And when I looked down then I saw the lacerations, I saw the flesh and the skin just hanging out there. I was just kind of ‘Someone bit me.'”
Not someone, but something.
Once O’Leary’s fellow nudies helped him to shore, he wanted to get his clothes on before the emergency crews arrived.
“There’s about five people putting pressure on the cut and I told them I wanted to get my clothes on. So we got them and we kind of put it on,” O’Leary said.
O’Leary was rushed to Hilo Medical Center where he is being treated for two severed tendons, which resulted in more than 50 stitches.
This attack marks the eighth attack on Hawaii this year, including a 10-year-old bitten at Makaha, and a man attacked by a 13-foot Tiger Shark, which he documented via Instagram.
