‘This feels like a miracle’: Coogee shark attack victim utters first words
Updated . First published at
Sydney mum Leah Stewart has said her first words since a shark attack at Coogee beach more than a week ago left her fighting for life.
The 34-year-old was extubated on Tuesday after a week of life support and multiple surgeries, including arm amputation.
Leah Stewart is a teacher with a young child. GoFundMe
Stewart's family says she has had an arm amputated. GoFundMe
Doctors reduced her level of sedation and brought her out of an induced coma for a short time, according to a post from her brother on an online fundraiser.
“This allowed Leah to share her first words, ‘I love you’, with her mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident,” he wrote.
“Her first thoughts were with her daughter August and [Stewart] wanted to check she was OK.
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‘Long road ahead’: Sydney shark attack victim to remain in critical condition for ‘some time’
“This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle.”
He said the family had been hoping and praying for it since she was attacked.
Stewart remains in ICU at St Vincent’s Hospital and will continue to require high-level care for some time.
She has already undergone five days of surgery and is scheduled for additional procedures in the weeks to come.
“Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah’s long-term recovery,” her brother wrote.
Stewart has undergone multiple surgeries since the attack that left her fighting for life. 9News
More than $488,000 has already been donated to help Stewart’s family cover medical and other costs.
The mum-of-one was swimming just 20 to 30 metres from the shore at Coogee beach on Saturday, June 13, when she was bitten by what is believed to have been a great white shark.
An off-duty lifeguard, Charlie Verco, was in the water and saw Stewart get pulled under.
Stewart is scheduled for additional procedures at St Vincent's Hospital Sydney. Stewart family/GoFundMe
“There was a lot of blood in the water, I couldn’t really see what was going on,” he told Today.
“She popped up and [the shark] let her go, and that was when I got close enough to grab her and put her on my board and take her to shore.”
Other beachgoers raced to stem the bleeding from serious wounds to Stewart’s arm and leg as they waited for paramedics to arrive.
Shark-spotting drones were not in the air over Coogee on the day Stewart was attacked due to a ban on drones because of the beach’s proximity to Sydney airport.
That ban has since been lifted.
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