Photo: Rose Keaweamahi-Hoovler // GoFundMe
A Kauai surfer has been hospitalized after encountering a shark in Hanalei Bay.
At 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Chance Swanson was surfing near the Pine Trees surf break when he was bitten in the legs by a shark. As Maui Now reports, first responders treated Swanson on the scene and then transferred him to Wilcox Medical Center in Līhuʻe.
“The first responders on the scene did a fantastic job which ended up saving his life,” wrote Swanson’s mother Rose Keaweamahi-Hoovler in a GoFundMe dedicated to his medical bills. “Chance sustained serious injuries to his left leg. Doctors are uncertain and predict a long road to recovery. Chance needed to be medevac’d to Queens Medical on Oahu for further treatment. His insurance will only cover a portion of this treatment, leaving him with an uncertainty of bills ahead.”
On Thursday, Keaweamahi-Hoovler provided an update on Swanson’s status, saying “After being Medevac’d he went into surgery immediately to fix an artery on his left calf and prepping for another surgery to fix his fibula from the shark bite. He’s still sedated and on a ventilator at this time.”
Ocean Safety Bureau officials closed Hanalei Bay to swimming until further notice. Lifeguards will assess on Thursday afternoon if the water is safe for swimming.
