Surfer's bite wound came within fraction of severing major artery

A 20-year-old Santa Rosa woman bitten Wednesday by a great white shark while surfing off the Sonoma County coast came within a centimeter of losing her leg or bleeding to death, her surgeon said.

Megan Halavais fought off the shark, beating on its tail after it pulled her under the water, but suffered bite wounds to her right thigh and calf that cut to the bone, Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital surgeon David Hardin said.

She was in fair condition today and will undergo further surgery on Friday, hospital officials said. She is expected to make a full recovery.

The larger, 16-centimeter laceration on her thigh came within a centimeter of severing a major artery, Hardin said.

?She most likely would have bled to death had that happened,? Hardin said.

Halavais, a former Santa Rosa city lifeguard, swimming instructor and Santa Rosa Junior College water polo player, was ?very lucky,? Hardin said.

The attack left tooth marks on the bottom of her surfboard in a crescent with a 19-inch diameter, so the shark was clearly very large, Sonoma Coast State Beach Ranger Bill Walton said.

The attack prompted parks officials to close a 6-mile stretch of ocean waters from Mussel Point at Bodega Head to Coleman Beach until Monday, although the beaches will remain open.

Halavais? boyfriend, John Henry of Santa Rosa, and a half-dozen other surfers were about 100 yards off the south end of Salmon Creek Beach ? the site of several past shark attacks ? when they heard a loud splash and Halavais? screams.

Witnesses said they saw a dorsal fin about three feet tall circling Halavais, apparently bumping her, as she sat on her board. They estimated the shark was 12 to 18 feet long.

Henry was maybe 30 feet away and already paddling toward her. He and another surfer, David Bryant, began yelling and slapping the water, hoping to scare the shark away.

Then, as they got close, Halavais and her board, tethered by a 6- or 8-foot line, disappeared, going deep below the surface, they said at a news conference later at the hospital.

Both men said they feared the worst.

?I definitely thought she was gone,? Henry said.

But Bryant said they had every intention of getting her back as they charged toward the shark, yelling, ?No. No. No!?

?In my mind,? Bryant said, growing emotional, ?I was saying, ?You can?t have her. You can?t have her today.?

? Then the shark swam off, and Halavais climbed onto Henry?s board, apparently unaware she?d been bitten.Halavais was helped onto her own board, scarred by huge teeth marks and its leash severed, said surfer Devin Rowley of Santa Rosa.Bryant said Halavais? ?tribe of surfers? encircled her as they headed to shore, Henry periodically pushing Halavais? board ahead, although she mostly paddled herself.?Everybody just went to her aid immediately, and it was very touching,? Henry said. ?Very, very, very, very cool.?Witnesses said there was little blood, but Bryant said he could see that the flesh was displaced beneath Halavais? wet suit. As they headed for shore Bryant and Henry made plans for Bryant to run for help while Henry applied pressure to her wounds.As they talked, Halavais gradually caught on, saying, ?What? I?m cut?? and slumping with the realization.But she got to her feet at first on shore and was a trooper throughout, Henry said.Among the surfers were off-duty state lifeguard Brit Horn and several emergency medics, Henry said.Bryant and another surfer took off for help once onshore, and Horn used a wet suit beanie and a rash guard to bandage Halavais? wounds.The Sonoma County sheriff?s helicopter got Halavais to Memorial within 45 minutes of the attack, which occurred shortly before 11 a.m.Hardin, the surgeon, said Halavais was alert and talking when she arrived and laughed about how she?d told her mom she would be bitten by a shark one day.She was able to move her right foot, and it appeared that nerve damage, if any, was minimal, he said. Besides the wound on her thigh, she had a smaller, 5-centimeter laceration on her calf, Hardin said.He said he played Beach Boys tunes during surgery, thinking it ?fitting,? and spent a good deal of time flushing sand and debris? from Halavais? wounds before stitching her muscle and other tissue back together.Salmon Creek Beach has been the scene of shark encounters before.In 1996, Gregg Ferry of Sunnyvale was bitten by a great white. Also in 1996, Monte Rio surfer Kennon Cahill said he repeatedly was bumped by a shark but not bitten.In November 2002, Santa Rosa attorney Mike Casey was bitten while body surfing.Horn said there have been at least two encounters since where surfers have said they were bumped by a shark.Horn and others said most surfers keep the possibility of a shark attack in the back of their minds. But, Henry said, ?it?s not common at all. We never expected to see a shark.?You can reach Staff Writers Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mcallahan@pressdemocrat.com and Bob