Just two days after Raymond "Ray Ray" Senensi III was bitten by a 5- to 6-foot shark while bodyboarding, the 10-year-old Nanakuli boy returned to Makaha Beach Park on Friday to thank the people who rescued and treated him on shore.

He gave them three lei each and teared up as he said, "Thank you, guys."

"I want to thank everybody when they helped me," said Senensi, a Nanaikapono Elementary School fourth-grader who was in a wheelchair Friday. He was joined by his mother, Shirita Moreno, and other family and friends, who were wearing red shirts — Senensi’s favorite color. He said he will be back in the water "someday."

At the emotional reunion Friday, lifeguards hugged Senensi and took photos with him, some of them saying, "We’ll see you when you get back in the water." They gave Senensi a red Ocean Safety lifeguard hat, which he immediately put on.

Kelly Krohne, an off-duty lifeguard captain who was surfing on his day off and helped Senensi get to shore, described receiving a lei and a thank you as "awesome."

"He was way calmer than I would ever be in my life," Krohne said Friday. "He’s definitely one of the toughest kids I’ve ever seen around."

The Wednesday attack before 3 p.m. was the seventh in Hawaii this year. Senensi, who was bodyboarding with his seven siblings and two calabash relatives but was alone at the time of the attack, had recalled a gray-and-white shark biting his right leg and dragging him under the waves. Like his mother told him, he kicked the shark with his left leg until it let go.

Senensi sustained a deep tear on his right thigh and other injuries down to his ankle. But Moreno said Friday that he is expected to make a full recovery and should be back at school in about two weeks.

Moreno said Senensi still suffers from pain in his leg but is able to walk a few feet with crutches.

"He loves the ocean. The ocean is everything," Moreno said. "He’s just pulling through everything."

Senensi and two other 10-year-olds are Hawaii’s youngest shark attack victims, said Bruce Anderson, administrator of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ Division of Aquatic Resources.

"This boy would join two other 10-year-old boys, both from Molokai, as the youngest shark bite victims," Anderson said Friday.

Mike Ward, the bodyboarder who was the first to paddle out to help Senensi after the shark attack, described the boy as "amazing." Ward said he was near Senensi when he heard him yell for help, and could tell that "he was terrified."

Ward hugged Senensi on Friday when he was given lei and said a prayer with Senensi, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"This close after the attack, he’s out walking with crutches," said Ward, who has 10 grandchildren, one of whom he’s training in the water. "I hope that he’s (grandson) as good a trouper as this young man is. He’ll be a good role model."

Star-Advertiser staff writer Dan Nakaso contributed to this report.