Marc F. Romano rescued Jeri L. Douglas from a shark that had attacked her, Waikoloa, Hawaii, January 2, 2021. Douglas, 68, retired golf club pro, was swimming in a bay of the Pacific Ocean west of a beach when a shark attacked her in deep water about 600 feet from shore. She treaded water with her arms and left leg and, bleeding profusely, called for help. Romano, 26, deckhand, was on board a catamaran moored in the bay and heard Douglas’s screams for help. Romano dived into the ocean and swam toward Douglas, towing a flotation device. Approaching her, he noted blood in the water, and Douglas shouted that she had been bitten by the shark. Romano spoke to Douglas to calm her, then instructed her to grab the flotation device. Romano towed her with his right arm, while swimming with his left arm and legs. Meanwhile, the captain of the catamaran and another deckhand navigated a touring boat to Douglas and picked them up. Romano put towels on her wounds and applied pressure to them as the captain navigated the boat to the beach. Romano and others then carried Douglas to arriving paramedics, who applied a tourniquet to her leg to staunch the bleeding. Douglas, who was taken to the hospital, sustained bite wounds to her calf, a broken leg bone, and wounds to her ankle and toe. She underwent emergency surgery to repair the wounds and spent five days in a hospital. Months later she continued to rehabilitate from her injuries.
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