Shark attack mother says 3 heart-melting words after waking from coma | World | News
Shark attack survivor says first words after waking up (Image:-)
Her family announced that a mother who was in critical condition after a shark attack said her first words after being brought out of a coma.
Leah Stewart, 35, was attacked by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on June 13.
He was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital in a critical condition, where he had his arm amputated and underwent multiple surgeries while he remained in intensive care.
His family has been providing regular updates from his bedside, with brother Joshua sharing an emotional statement on Wednesday.
“After a week of life support and repeated surgeries, doctors were able to extubate Leah and reduce her sedation level to briefly bring her out of a coma,” he said.
“This allowed Leah to share her first words, ‘I love you’, with her mother and partner Fernando, who has been with her in intensive care since the incident.
“His first thoughts were of his daughter August and he wanted to check if she was okay.
“This is much faster than anyone expected and to us this feels like a miracle and everything many of us have been hoping and praying for this past week.”
Despite the positive progress, Ms Stewart remains in intensive care and faces a long recovery ahead, the Daily Mail reported.
“He had five days of surgery last week and is scheduled for further surgeries today and more surgeries in the coming weeks,” Joshua added.
“Leah has a long road ahead of her and she is still in intensive care, but this is a very positive first step and gives us hope for Leah’s long-term recovery.
“Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who continues to support Leah through your care, prayers, love and generosity.”
A fundraising campaign to support Ms. Stewart’s rehabilitation, prosthetics and medical expenses has already raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, bringing the total to $488,000.
The attack occurred while Ms Stewart was swimming at Coogee Beach. Off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco, who was paddleboarding nearby, rushed to help after the incident.
He pulled her onto his board and returned to shore, where emergency efforts began.
Mother who was attacked by shark came out of coma (Image: GoFundMe)
He received multiple blood transfusions on the beach before he was flown to St Vincent’s Hospital and put on life support.
Ms Stewart, a primary school teacher at Hurstville Adventist School, previously worked at Sydney Adventist School in Auburn about 10 years ago.
Former colleagues remembered him fondly; An acquaintance shared a memory of when he talked excitedly about the TV show. Australian Survivor.
“Then he said he wanted to go to Survivor. Well, 10 years later, he’s now a survivor,” they said.
“He will overcome the challenges and come out on top. I wish you, him and your family nothing but the best.”
Although authorities later granted exemptions for temporary monitoring, Coogee Beach was not under active shark drone surveillance at the time of the attack because the area was located below the flight path.
The shark in question is believed to be 3 to 4 meters long.
