Vacationers helped save teen's life in shark attack
| • | Shark victim 'doing well, very positive' |
| • | Thank goodness, instincts of those who come to aid |
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Vacationers David and Nancy Roberts of Colorado were watching 17-year-old Hokuanu Aki bodyboarding the waves at Brennecke Beach Monday as the dorsal fin of what they thought was a dolphin sliced through the water about 100 yards offshore.
But it was no dolphin.
"My husband stands up and says 'look at the dolphin, it's in so close,' " Nancy Roberts said. "Then he jumped up and said, 'It's not a dolphin, it's a shark.' "
Aki had not been in the water five minutes when the shark attacked him. Aki fought for his life, grabbing the shark's eye and struggling to shore as David Roberts coaxed him on and ordered the other swimmers and bodyboarders out of the water. Roberts had thought about grabbing a board and dashing in himself but decided it was too dangerous.
"My husband made eye contact with (Aki) out in the water," Nancy Roberts said yesterday from her home in Littleton, Colo. "He said, 'Come on, you can do it, you're strong, you can make it, you're going to be OK.' "
David Roberts and a friend, Brian Hanson, helped bring Aki to shore. Roberts' 13-year-old son, Spencer, ran to a lifeguard to report that Aki was bitten by a shark and his left leg was gone.
Luckily for Aki, Nancy Roberts is a registered nurse. She saw a stream of blood trailing Aki and grabbed some towels, compressing his leg with all her strength.
"I was just trying to encourage him that he was going to be OK, and help was on the way; and he did the right thing by following our instructions," she said. "I just told him what a good kid he was and he was going to be OK."
She said Aki was going into shock and that he kept telling her that he had difficulty breathing. She said the Kaua'i Fire Department arrived first and handed her a tourniquet.
"I knew he needed help desperately," Nancy Roberts said. "He was so frightened. Just sheer panic was on his face. I just wanted to hold him and make sure he was OK. I just wanted to help him as much as I could."
At the time of the attack, Spencer Roberts and Hanson's 12-year-old son, Colin, were playing in the shorebreak, she said.
"I was so frightened for (Aki)," Nancy Roberts said. "At the same time, I was frightened for myself, because my husband and I were out there the day before swimming in that same area."
She said she didn't think she was a hero and said "anyone would have done what I did."
"I have children of my own," Nancy Roberts said. "I cannot even imagine going through something like that. ... He saved himself. He was very brave and very strong. We're so proud of him."
Reach Brandon Masuoka at bmasuoka@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8110.
