Leah Stewart, 34, has recounted the moment she came face-to-face with a four-metre great white shark while swimming between the flags at Sydney's Coogee Beach in Australia in June. The mum-of-one was left fighting for her life after the attack, which saw her punch the shark in the face in a split-second decision to protect herself.
In an interview with Nine's 60 Minutes programme, Leah recalled the terrifying encounter: "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'."
Decision to lose a limb
Leah described the thought process that led to her decision to fight back: "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."
She previously recounted on the show how her survival instincts kicked in during the attack as she fought the beast for the sake of her baby girl, August. "Its face was horrific - I will never forget (it)," she exclaimed. "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'."
Emergency call and recovery
Leah's interview also features the emergency 000 call as she lay injured. "Hi, we've got a shark attack at Coogee Beach... there's a lot of blood," a beachgoer can be heard telling the operator.
Afterwards, she underwent multiple surgeries and spent two weeks in a coma as doctors and surgeons fought to save her life. One procedure saw the Aussie primary school teacher lose one of her arms, while her other arm suffered from serious tendon and nerve damage.
Community support and gratitude
As her recovery continues, Leah's family have set up a GoFundMe, and as of August 28 donations have surpassed £295,000. A message from Leah on the account reads: "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 went on to add: "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 closed by expressing her gratefulness at her "second chance of life" - one which she has vowed 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 declared. "I will forever be grateful for everything, and everyone, I’ve been given. You've inspired me to get better, not bitter."
Leah also expressed her gratitude to Charlie Verco, a championship paddleboarder who pulled her from the water before emergency responders and medical teams arrived to treat her on the beach.
The incident was followed by an expansion of shark-spotting drones along the New South Wales coastline. Since July 1, drones have been deployed at 70 beaches, including every Sydney beach between Palm Beach and Cronulla.
