A mother-of-one has described the harrowing moment she had to decide which arm to sacrifice when confronted by a “monster” great white shark.
Leah Stewart, 34, found herself in a desperate struggle for survival after being attacked by the four-metre predator in June while swimming between the flags at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Encounter with the shark
Speaking to Nine's 60 Minutes programme, Leah remembered the terrifying instant she encountered the enormous creature: “It got to the point where it was about 30cm from my face and it started opening its mouth.”
“I'm like, 'It's going to get my face, it's going to bite my face'... I'm like, 'I've got to try and punch it. I've got to try and push it away or else it's going to bite my head off'.”
She added: “And in that moment I thought, 'Well, which limb am I willing to lose?' I'm right-handed. So I decided, let's do a left hook.”
Fighting for her daughter
During the programme, Leah described how her survival instincts kicked in during the ordeal as she battled the creature for the sake of her baby daughter, August.
“Its face was horrific - I will never forget (it),” she stated. “It was a monster. It was holding onto my leg. All I was thinking of was August and I thought, 'she's not going to have a mum'. I just thought, 'I've got to fight it and do everything I can to be here'.”
Despite the traumatic ordeal, she insists she doesn't want to be remembered as “a girl that got mauled on the beach”. “I'm the woman that punched the shark in the face,” she said.
Emergency call and recovery
Leah's interview includes audio from the emergency 000 call made while she lay wounded. “Hi, we've got a shark attack at Coogee Beach... there's a lot of blood,” a witness can be heard informing the operator.
Following the incident, the Australian primary school teacher endured numerous operations and remained in a coma for a fortnight while medical staff battled to save her life. During one operation, she lost an arm, while her remaining arm sustained significant tendon and nerve damage.
Her family have launched a GoFundMe page to support her ongoing recovery, which had raised more than £295,000 by August 28.
Gratitude and a second chance
In a message posted on the fundraising page, Leah expressed her gratitude: “I want to say the biggest thank you for looking after me, for caring for my family, and for being generous enough to help my family through this. I am constantly overwhelmed at how supportive people I know, and even strangers, have been, and how much they've cared about my family to make such an impact on our lives.”
She continued: “After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I'm so happy that I've progressed enough to build some independence, and I can finally see some light after all of this. At this point, I think it's appropriate for us to turn off donations on the GoFundMe, because what you've offered has given us enough to recover, to stay in our home, and to give us options for further medical treatment down the road.”
Leah concluded by sharing her appreciation for her “second chance of life” - one she has promised not to “waste”.
“As I get better, I know I'll make something of this second chance and aim to give back even more in generosity, care, and love,” she stated.
“I will forever be grateful for everything, and everyone, I've been given. You've inspired me to get better, not bitter.”
Leah also thanked Charlie Verco, a championship paddleboarder who rescued her from the water before emergency services and medical personnel arrived to provide treatment on the beach.
Following the incident, shark-spotting drones were expanded along the New South Wales coastline. From 1st July, drones have been operating at 70 beaches, covering every Sydney beach from Palm Beach to Cronulla.
