Shark Attack Of Heather Boswell

On March 23, 1994, Discoverer was in the Pacific Ocean 300 nautical miles (560 km) east of Easter Island allowing several members of her crew to engage in recreational swimming when a shark attacked the swimmers. After biting Seaman Phil Buffington, inflicting wounds on his legs that would require over 50 stitches to close, the shark attacked Heather Boswell, a 19-year-old student aboard for a six-month stint working in Discoverer's galley, pulling her under, shaking her viciously, and biting off her left leg at mid-thigh. Three members of Discoverer's crew—Matthew N. Ofthus, Jon M. Knox, and Lisa K. Glover—came to her rescue in a boat, with two pulling her from the shark's jaws and into the boat while the third beat the shark with a stick. The shark then moved toward a third swimmer who was still partially in the water while climbing onto Discoverer via a rope ladder, but shots fired by crewmen aboard Discoverer apparently drove it away before it could attack. Boswell and Buffington were brought aboard Discoverer, where the ship's registered nurse, Lieutenant Commander Judeth L. Layne of the United States Public Health Service, took charge of treating them. In Seattle, Commander Lawrence F. Simoneaux, NOAA Corps, Lieutenant Commander James Herkelrath, NOAA Corps, and Lieutenant Commander Steve C. Stringfellow, U.S. Public Health Service, set up a command post which provided life-saving medical advice to Layne aboard the ship and arranged logistical support for the evacuation of Buffington and Boswell and the arrival of emergency medical teams. In 1994, for their efforts in rescuing and saving the lives of the two injured swimmers, Layne, Ofthus, Knox, and Glover received the Department of Commerce Gold Medal and Simoneaux, Herkelrath, and Stringfellow received the Department of Commerce Silver Medal.[3][4][5] A five-person Air Force Medical Team, led by Major Darr Lafon, MD and Major Larry Martindale, RN flew on a KC-135 from Howard AFB Panama to Easter Island to meet the ship and take care of the shark bite victims. They had to go to the ship in small wooded Easter Island fishing boats and then climb the side of the ship to reach the deck. They spent four hours on the ship and stabilized Heather Boswell, who had lost almost half of her blood in the attack. After multiple transfusions, the team and ship's crew transported Ms Boswell through 20-foot (6.1 m) swells to the fishing boat landing at Easter Island. They flew seven hours back to Panama and Heather Boswell was taken to surgery at Gorgas Army Hospital for initial closure of what remained of her left thigh. After stabilization overnight, with more transfusions for Ms Boswell, both victims were transported back to Seattle in a C-21 Learjet air ambulance.