HONOLULU, Hawaii (19 Oct 2004) -- The Honolulu man attacked by a shark in waters off Molokai nine days ago appeared in public for the first time Tuesday. After more than a week in the hospital, Davy Sanada, 34, was finally going home. He shared a few words of deep gratitude. "I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the professionals who helped me through this ordeal to get me to this day right here," Sanada said. With his arm in a sling, Sanada said he's lucky to be alive. "I also want to say thank you deep down in my heart to my sister my mom and dad. I know I put them through a lot," he said. The diver from Honolulu was attacked while spear fishing about 600 yards offshore Pukoo in East Molokai on Oct. 9. He said he wasn't ready to talk about the incident. Instead, he left the details to his doctor. "The shark grabbed him, the top teeth here, the bottom teeth here. He was like a rag doll for about 5 seconds. He got away from the shark. As he got up, the shark started coming back toward him and he had his spear and hit the head of the shark to keep him from coming in," Dr. Morris Mitsunaga said. Doctors said if the shark held on a few more seconds, Sanada could have lost his arm. The doctor said quick thinking by Sanada is likely what saved his arm. "He knew it was bad because he could see the bone in the back and that's when he took his wetsuit and flipped it over to stop the bleeding," Mitsunaga said. | | Davy Sanada Sanada said he believes it was an 8-foot tiger shark that attacked him. "The teeth of the shark went all they way to the back, taking almost all of the muscles off the back of the scapula," Mitsunaga said. Doctors were able to graft leg muscle to Sanada's shoulder. They're hopeful he will recover. "The shoulder and arm is very much salvageable. So, he's the kind of person who is athletic, who I think will eventually get back most function," Mitsunaga said. SOURCE - KITV |
