Friend of surfer hospitalized by Maui shark attack acclaims his perseverance
Renee Wilcox identified the surfer as Kenji Nonoka.
By Jeremiah Estrada
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KAHULUI, Hawaii (KITV) — A friend of the 61-year-old man involved in a shark attack off Maui recalled the incident from this morning.
Renee Wilcox identified the surfer as Kenji Nonoka. Wilcox who goes surfing with Nonoka almost every morning. She said she took the day off but that her boyfriend was there early this morning, along with Nonoka and other friends.
Wilcox spoke about seeing him after the attack, “When I talked with him in the hospital, he was looking forward to getting back in the ocean. He just talked about how much he absolutely loves the ocean and how he might want to try boogie boarding for a little bit at first.”
“It’s scary for all of us because you always think, ‘It’s not going to happen here. It’s not going to happen to us.’ and it did. He is a really hard working man and he takes such good care of himself. He’s so healthy and so positive and friendly. It is hard to see something like that happen to somebody that amazing of a person,” Wilcox added.
Officials said Nonoka has been upgraded from critical to serious condition.
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