Nine months ago, Nicholas Iwamoto was stabbed 18 times while hiking Koko Crater, his story of survival is still being written.
Iwamato has much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving holiday.
"I'm alive, I'm walking, I'm talking to you and I shouldn't be feeling sorry for myself I have nothing to complain about," he said. "My most important emotion is gratitude."
Gratitude for his family and for those who saved his life on February 1 when he and another man were brutally attacked on Koko Crater. Iwamoto was training to join the the Hawaii Army National Guard but found himself fighting for his life after allegedly being stabbed by 19-year-old Benjamin Davis.
"The first thing I remember is waking up in a ravine," said Iwamoto who had fallen off a 30-foot cliff and rolled another 70 feet while trying to flee. "I just remember waking up and blood is just pouring out of my mouth and I just feel so warm because there's just blood all over me."
He suffered a broken neck, a fractured skull and foot, a lacerated liver and diaphragm and a punctured lung.
"I tried to make noise but I when I tried to yell, there was hole in my left lung because it was punctured so blood just started shooting out," said Iwamoto.
After 45 minutes, he was spotted in the ravine.
"The only thing we can say is God's angels were all there that day, there's no question," said his mother, Kitty Iwamoto.
The once avid bodyboarder has endured six surgeries, the latest in July in an effort to fuse his spinal vertebrae.
"I don't know if it's going to work out yet because I'm not showing fusion," said Iwamoto.
The 23-year-old leans on his mother who put her career on hold. He also has two new loves his pet beagle and knitting.
"I'm starting to sell beanies, scarfs, pot-holders," he said and hopes to expand his product line to include beef jerky. "You know I won't give up, not while there's still family, friends, a lot of knitting to do a lot of beef jerky to make. It would be nice if I didn't remember any of it but I do."
Davis' attempted murder trial is set to begin in February.
Anyone interested in helping the Iwamoto family with their medical expenses can send a check to Friends of Nicholas Iwamoto, P.O. Box 241076, Honolulu, HI 96824 or make a contribution to the fund at any Bank of Hawaii. Iwamoto can be reached at iwamoton@hawaii.edu.
