Shark rips off POIPU, Kauai >> Despite losing his leg in a shark attack yesterday, Hoku Aki, 17, of Koloa is in good spirits, his father, Harmon Aki, said this morning.
teen’s foot
Hoku Aki is in good spirits
1997 shark victim offers hope
despite having his left leg
amputated below the kneeBy Anthony Sommer
and Rosemarie Bernardo
tsommer@starbulletin.com | rbernardo@starbulletin.com"He's totally cognizant of what happened to him. He's ready to work through it," the elder Aki said. "He's getting tremendous support from his family and friends."
Hoku Aki is listed in stable condition this morning at Wilcox Memorial Hospital after he was attacked yesterday while bodyboarding at Brennecke Beach.
Wilcox hospital said doctors found the damage to his lower left leg so extensive that they amputated it just below the knee.
Brennecke Beach, just east of Poipu Beach Park on Kauai's south shore, remained closed this morning. A fire department official said the water was still murky from recent storms and normal policy is to keep the beach closed for at least 24-hours after a shark attack.
"Thank goodness he is still with us here today. That's the best part of it," said Harmon Aki, said yesterday.
Harmon said his son told him that he did not see the shark until it came from below. Before he knew it, his survival instincts kicked in and he was fighting for his life, Harmon said. The teen was able to regain composure and swim back to shore, he added.
Jason Brown, manager of the Nukumoi Surf Shop at Brennecke said he was taking inventory at about noon yesterday when "a lady came running into the store saying there was a guy 30 feet offshore in the middle of a pool of blood.
"I took off my shoes and socks ... and grabbed a longboard and started running toward the beach." Brown said he arrived at the same time as the lifeguards who ran from Poipu County Beach Park, a quarter-mile away.
"There were already two women taking care of him. One had a towel wrapped around his left leg. You could tell his foot was gone. The other was holding his hand," Brown said.
One of the women on the beach was an experienced trauma nurse visiting from the mainland. Fire officials credited her with saving Aki's life by stopping the bleeding, but did not release her name.
Aki's father also commended the nurse for helping his son.
He said his son is under medication but is aware of the attack. "He's recalling it bit by bit. No doubt, traumatic," Harmon said.
Lifeguard Kalani Vierra said he had just received a radio call from the fire dispatcher telling him there was a swimmer in distress at Brennecke Beach when several people came running up to his tower asking him to help.
"I grabbed my equipment and started running. The closer I got to the beach and the more people were telling me what happened, it turned from a swimmer in distress to a shark attack," Vierra said. "When I got there, I could see his foot and ankle were gone.
"He was conscious the whole time. He knew his name, knew what day it was, knew his phone number," Vierra said, adding Aki's parents arrived right after the fire trucks and ambulances.
"He's very tall and a big, strong kid. It was like a regular day for him," Vierra said. "There were four other people in shallow water, but he was on the outside waiting to catch a wave."
Witnesses said Aki was pulled under by the shark but managed to free himself. Aki told firefighters he punched the shark several times and finally gouged one of its eyes, forcing it to release him.
Vierra said after two days of heavy rain, the water was murky.
"The sharks come closer to shore after a flood," he said. "All kinds of carcasses come floating down the rivers into the ocean."
Randy Honebrink, a spokesman for the state shark task force, said he planned to fly to Kauai this morning to investigate the attack.
Honebrink said he suspects it was a tiger shark that attacked Aki because "there's not many sharks that will be that close to shore that will do that kind of damage."
Harmon Aki said his family regularly goes to Brennecke Beach on the south shore and never had an encounter with a shark. "It's not an area that you would consider frequented by sharks. ... There's never been so much as a sighting," he said.
This morning, Aki said the attack would not deter his son from participating in activities. He described his son, a Kauai High School senior, as "Tall, athletic and very popular. He was elected May Day King and he's determined to be present for that."
Aki said his son also is an accomplished musician. The band in which he plays recently won the Kauai round of StarQuest and he's still planning on being in the state competition.
"He sings, he plays keyboard, 12-string guitar. 6-string guitar, ukulele, even the drums," Aki said of his son. "He's just all around very good at music."
Yesterday's attack was the second reported in Hawaii this year. On New Year's Day, a California man reported being bitten by a shark about 100 yards off a West Maui beach. Thomas Holmes, 35, of Los Angeles said he needed about 35 stitches for cuts he suffered on his buttocks and thigh after the shark bit him once.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A Kauai resident who lost his right foot in a shark attack more than four years ago offered words of sympathy and advice for a 17-year-old Koloa teen who was bitten yesterday by a shark. 1997 shark victim offers
hope for Kauai teenBy Rosemarie Bernardo
rbernardo@starbulletin.com"I know what he's going through right now, being overwhelmed and with everything going on," said 22-year-old Michael Coots of the latest Kauai shark attack victim, Hoku Aki.
"I'm pretty sure Hoku feels the same way, very glad to be alive. He's probably wondering if he will be able to walk. He'll be up and about in no time," Coots added.
On the morning of Oct. 28, 1997, Coots paddled about 150 yards from the shore of Majors Beach on Kauai's west shore.
He described the water as murky as he waited for the next wave set. All of a sudden, Coots said, a tiger shark came from below and grabbed both feet.
The shark pulled him from side to side, and Coots said he put his hand in the shark's mouth to free his right leg. Coots punched the shark twice in the head, and the shark released him.
When he paddled toward the shore, he noticed his finger was bleeding and felt spasms in his right leg. "When I looked back, I saw my foot was gone. ... I didn't realize my leg got bit," he said.
Coots said he fell into "shock mode" and did not feel any pain when he was taken to Wilcox Memorial Hospital.
However, Coots added, "When I was going to the hospital, I was wondering if I was going to make it."
Coots now wears a prosthesis that enables him to walk.
The 22-year-old said the attack did not deter his love of bodyboarding, and he continues to frequent the area where he was attacked four years ago.
Coots said he and his family empathized with Aki and his family members.
Coots advised Aki to "stay strong, and everything will work out fine."
He added that his strong faith in God helped him overcome the attack.
State Shark Task Force spokesman Randy Honebrink said he plans to meet with Coots to learn what happened when he was attacked and whether there is a similar pattern between the two attacks.
