A 33‑year‑old lifeguard and surfer named Chance Swanson, who works out of Kauai, told reporters in detail how he survived a tiger shark attack that left him with a serious leg wound. While riding waves in Hanalei Bay on November 5, the shark bit his left leg. Local lifeguards later spotted him in the water with a large red stain and a bout of panic, and they brought him back to shore on a rescue ski, putting a tourniquet on his injuries almost immediately.
Swanson’s injuries were severe: major blood vessels and tendons were damaged. He was first treated at Wilcox Medical Center and then air‑lifted to Queen’s Medical Center, where he spent time on a ventilator. He underwent emergency care and later a skin‑graft operation using tissue from his thigh. The surgery was successful, but recovery will take up to a year as the severed nerves in his leg slowly regenerate.
Despite the ordeal, Swanson says he is ready to return to the ocean—both as a lifeguard and a surfer—once his foot regains full function and he can pass the annual physical. “I plan on doing both if I get the full function of my foot again and if I can pass the yearly physical test,” he said. He also admitted he will take extra precautions. “I think I’ll definitely take better precautions,” he said. “I’m thinking about getting a Garmin watch and a shark band,” he added, explaining that the technology could have sped up his rescue and possibly prevented the bite.
When the shark bit him, Swanson described an immediate, instinctive knowledge that something had attacked him, even though he couldn’t see the shark. “I knew without even seeing the shark that I was getting bit by a shark,” he said. He paused, prayed to “Jesus Christ, either to help me survive this or to take me to heaven,” and felt a surge of relief that he survived.
Two friends on a personal watercraft rushed to help. One “jumped off and got [me]” and applied a tourniquet before reaching him. After the attack, lifeguards erected “Shark Sighted – No Swimming” signs along the beach, and the bay remained closed while patrols continue, as shark sightings keep occurring.
Swanson recently finished his final major surgery—a skin graft that used tissue from his thigh—and says he is “relieved” to be through with the big operations. His surgeons also repaired a severed nerve by welding it back together with a piece of tissue from his heel. “It could be anywhere from weeks, months, to a year,” he said, acknowledging the unpredictable nature of nerve healing.
He noted that his mind replayed the incident repeatedly, even without prompting. “My mind kept replaying the incident,” he said. Yet the experience also made him realize how beloved he truly is. “I didn’t realize how loved I was and just how many people reached out,” he said. “It was overwhelming in a good way.”
Swanson is using the support from his community to advocate for better resources for first responders and medical facilities in Hawaii. “We have to get more people to support Queen’s hospital and ocean safety on all the islands of Hawaii,” he said. His mother has set up a GoFundMe page to help offset his medical costs.
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