Dylan McWilliams, 20 was attacked by a shark Thursday in the waters of Kauai less than a year after being mauled and dragged by a black bear in the wilds of Colorado. And he was bitten by a rattlesnake in Utah a little over three years ago, reports the Honolulu Star Advertiser.
Early Thursday morning when the water was clear, blue and inviting with 3- to 5-foot waves, and there were a handful of others enjoying the surf, McWilliams entered the water with his boogie board at around 7:30 a.m and caught his first wave.
As he was heading back out, another wave knocked him off his board in 15 feet of water about 30 yards from shore. That’s when he felt the searing pain in his right calf.
“At first I panicked,” he said. “I didn’t know if I lost half my leg or what.”
McWilliams said beneath him was what looked like a 6- to 8-foot tiger shark, he saw the stripes, and he gave it a swift kick before launching into a desperate swim to shore.
“That was the scariest part. I didn’t know where the shark was, and I didn’t know if he would come after me again,” he said.
On the beach, his calls for help were heard by a woman who came to his aid. She called authorities, and as he sat on the beach, his leg dripping with blood, he realized his injuries could have been a lot worse.
In July McWilliams received nine staples in his scalp after a 280-pound black bear woke him as he slept outdoors with other staff members at a summer camp near Ward, CO. The bear bit into the back of his head and dragged him some 12 feet. McWilliams said he remembers waking up to the sound of the crunching of his skull, and as he was being dragged away, he instinctively fought back, throwing punches and poking the bear in the eye.
But luck was on his side, just as it was over 3 years ago when a pygmy faded rattlesnake surprised him as he was hiking out of a canyon near Moab, UT. Turns out it was a dry bite, which gave him only enough venom to make him ill for a day or two.
If this guy was my buddy, I’d seriously reconsider hanging out with him, definitely a threat to your health! What do you reckon, super lucky or super unlucky?!
