Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher and mother of a one-year-old daughter, has uttered her first words after waking from a coma following a shark attack at Coogee beach on 13 June. She told her mother and partner, 'I love you,' after being extubated on Tuesday, approximately 10 days after sustaining severe injuries from a great white shark bite.
Medical Progress and Family Reaction
Stewart spent a week on life-support and underwent about five days of surgeries, including an arm amputation, with more procedures scheduled. Her brother, Josh, wrote on a fundraising page that doctors were able to extubate her and reduce sedation to bring her out of the induced coma briefly. 'Her first thoughts were with her daughter … and wanted to check she was okay,' he said. 'This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle.'
Continued Treatment and Fundraising
Stewart remains in intensive care and was scheduled for another surgery on Tuesday. A GoFundMe page set up to cover her medical expenses and support her family has raised over $488,000 in donations.
Shark Activity and Beach Safety
The attack has heightened tensions regarding sharks off Sydney's coast. A drone video showed a shark near Bondi beach, and NSW's Primary Industries department confirmed a tagged tiger shark was detected at Bondi on Tuesday afternoon, having been tagged at Maroubra earlier that day. The incident has reignited calls to cull shark populations, but NSW Premier Chris Minns noted that great white sharks are protected and cannot be targeted. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority granted a temporary exemption for aerial surveillance of Coogee Beach, which is about eight kilometres from Sydney Airport. Shark nets, temporarily removed during the winter whale migration season, will be reinstalled at the start of September.
