Bethany bumped her dad from operating room

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Kaua'i Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Orthopedic surgeon David Rovinsky told a man lying on the operating table on Friday that he'd have to move.

Bethany Hamilton

David Rovinsky

Patient Tom Hamilton, his legs already numbed for surgery, knew his youngest child was out surfing that morning, as she was most days when there was surf.

He said, "Oh, God, please. Not my daughter."

In tears, Rovinsky returned to Tom Hamilton after his first look at Bethany Hamilton, who had lost her left arm to a 14-foot shark while surfing at Tunnels in Ha'ena.

"I started crying and told him it was his daughter. It was the hardest news I've ever had to deliver to a patient," Rovinsky said. "I have two children of my own."

Tom Hamilton was in the hospital for surgery on torn cartilage in his knee.

"His major complaint was that his knee was bugging him, and he couldn't surf with his daughter," Rovinsky said.

As the hospital staff moved Tom Hamilton to a gurney, "He said, 'Do what you can for my daughter,' " Rovinsky said.

Bethany, a teenage surfing sensation ready to turn professional, arrived at the hospital with a surfboard leash wrapped around the stub of her left arm. It had been put on by family friend Holt Blanchard, who had been surfing with Bethany and Blanchard's daughter, Alana, and whose quick actions were critical in saving Bethany's life, Rovinsky said.

"She really wasn't bleeding at all" with the surf leash tourniquet in place, the doctor said.

His initial surgery was designed to clean the wound, to remove tissue that had lost blood supply and would die, to cut nerve tissue in such a way that it would not cause pain or unusual sensation later and to control blood vessels, he said.

"It was a clean wound" without a great deal of torn tissue. The upper arm has about four inches of bone remaining below the shoulder, he said.

Yesterday, Rovinsky operated again, after checking to find that there was no infection. The operation took about an hour. He closed the wound, using a flap of tissue to cover the end of the bone.

"Today was a second look. It looked clean and very nice. I got a very good soft tissue closure," he said.

Rovinsky is on staff at Honolulu's Shriner's Hospital for Children, which treats kids who have orthopedic problems. He said the prognosis for Bethany is excellent.

"She's is an incredible athlete, a very strong woman," Rovinsky said. "The list of things that she'll have to do differently is long, but the list of things she'll be unable to do is short."

The stub of her arm is short, but can be used in connection with a range of prosthetic devices, he said. However, he said it's not certain she'll use them.

"If you look at kids, about half of them abandon their prosthetics," at least for everyday use, Rovinsky said. However, he said he expects Bethany to design her own prosthetic devices for specific things she'd like to do. For some things, such as surfing, she may not even need special gear once she develops techniques for things such as paddling and ducking through waves, he said.

Bethany had already been up and walking around the hospital during the weekend. In a press release issued by her family through Wilcox Hospital, she said, "I'm OK."

She has what the doctor called an "incredible support system" in a loving strong family, many good friends and a supportive church community. The Hamilton family attends the North Shore Christian Church. Rovinsky said Bethany has already talked about using her tragedy as a vehicle for telling people about Jesus Christ.

Bethany has also asked about when she can get back in the water. Rovinsky said he will allow it in two to four weeks, "as soon as the wounds heal."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.