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Kalama student honored for aiding shark attack victim

Emma McCord used the skills she’d learned in a recent first aid course

Emma McCord is surrounded by Council Members Kelly King (left) and Mike Molina and family members as the seventh grader receives a birthday cake to mark her 13th birthday, as well as a copy of a resolution honoring her for going to the aid of a woman who was bitten by a shark at Paia Bay. — The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photo

WAILUKU — Emma McCord said she was scared when she and her friends responded to cries for help and saw beachgoers on shore tending to a woman who had been bitten by a shark at Paia Bay.

“I wanted to throw up,” said the Kalama Intermediate School seventh grader, who had been swimming in those waters minutes earlier the afternoon of Sept. 3.

Instead, the Makawao resident drew on the first-aid training she completed days earlier to apply pressure to try to stop the bleeding from the injured woman’s left arm, which had been bitten off by the shark.

“She stepped up to the plate, didn’t hesitate,” said her father, Billy McCord.

He and other family members were in the Maui County Council chamber Friday morning as the council adopted a resolution honoring and thanking the girl for her act of heroism that helped save the woman’s life.

Emma McCord stands with (from left) her grandfather Bill McCord, her older sister Lilliana McCord and her father, Billy McCord, outside the Maui County Council Chamber Friday after Emma was honored for helping a woman who was bitten by a shark at Paia Bay. — The Maui News / LILA FUJIMOTO photo

“Emma-lee showed courage, selflessness and genuine intent to help another person,” said Council Member Kelly King, who introduced the resolution. “At only 12 years old, she is amazing.”

Council Member Mike Molina noted it would be hard enough for an adult in that situation.

“It’s not too often you find a 12-year-old reacting under duress,” he said. “I’m just blown away by this tremendous act of sacrifice on her part.”

The injured 51-year-old woman, who was visiting from France, had been snorkeling in 10 to 15 feet of turbid water about 20 yards from shore when she was attacked at about 4 p.m., officials said.

Emma said she and her friends had gotten out of the water and were at the bathroom to change out of their swimsuits when she heard a girl saying, “Help, help.”

The girl apparently had run from the beach to the nearby Paia Youth and Cultural Center to try to get help for the woman.

Emma and two friends went back to the beach, where other bystanders had put towels on the injured woman. “You could still see blood,” Emma said.

She said she took over to apply pressure to the woman’s arm after noticing that an adult wasn’t using the methods that she had learned in the first aid course.

The council resolution said Emma “immediately took heroic action to effectively render aid and stabilize the injured swimmer, helping to save her life … “

The woman lost her left arm below her shoulder, lost fingers on her right hand and suffered puncture wounds to the left side of her torso in the attack, according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources. After being initially hospitalized in critical condition, she was released several days later.

The species and length of the shark wasn’t known.

Emma learned first aid skills while participating in the Maui Hero Project at the Paia Youth and Cultural Center.

In the three-month program, students learned lifesaving activities including first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and search and rescue. They shot crossbows and paintballs, went on hikes and helped homeless people.

“I wanted to learn something new, and it was something to do,” she said. “I just wanted to know what to do in case anything happens like an emergency.”

Billy McCord said he was impressed with how the program helped his daughter develop confidence, in addition to teaching her lifesaving skills.

“She just matured so much in that program,” he said.

Gordon Gillis, owner of Safety Services Hawaii, was volunteering with the American Red Cross to teach the course that Emma took six days before the shark attack. He said the course included instruction about how to treat life-threatening bleeding and the importance of applying direct pressure on bleeding wounds.

“You give as much direct pressure as needed to stop the bleeding,” Gillis said. “That’s what she did.”

Jenny Worth, disaster program manager for the Maui chapter of the American Red Cross, said Emma recognized that maybe an adult didn’t have the skills the youth learned in the class and had the confidence to step up.

“It’s really amazing,” Worth said. “Kids are so altruistic.”

The American Red Cross has nominated Emma for a national lifesaving award.

Worth said youth make up 40 percent of the organization’s volunteer workforce, which includes more than 90 students. By the end of the day Friday, when Emma turned 13, she reached the minimum age to be among those volunteers, Worth said.

“Thank you, Emma, for just making us all so proud,” Worth said.

Along with the resolution, Emma received a birthday cake for her 13th birthday at the council meeting.

“I thought it was really cool,” she said before heading back to school.

* Lila Fujimoto can be reached at lfujimoto@mauinews.com.

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