An Australian woman who was severely injured during a shark attack in Sydney earlier this year has spoken publicly for the first time since she came face-to-face with a four-metre-long great white shark, recalling how she punched it in the face.
Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old mother of one, was dragged underwater by a shark at Coogee Beach on the morning of June 13 as it plunged its teeth into her arms and thigh, leading to extreme blood loss and the amputation of her left arm.
In an interview with 60 Minutes Australia, aired Sunday, she spoke in detail about the moment she realized a shark was circling, saying she began yelling loudly in an attempt to alert others to the presence of the animal.
“I’ve never screamed that loud and that crazy in my life … I’m just thinking, ‘Surely the lifeguards will hear us screaming, a jet ski is going to come out any second and scare it away,’” she said during the interview, but they did not arrive in time, and she was soon face-to-face with the animal.
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“Its face was horrific. I’ll never forget its face. It was huge and its teeth and its mouth was massive and its eyes, it’s just its black little beady eyes,” Stewart recalled, adding that she realized she had to attempt to fight it off.
“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 said, explaining that she threw a left hook at the shark’s body, which she said was like “hitting a brick wall.”
The shark ripped the skin and muscle off her arm, Stewart recalled, saying she continued to hit the shark because she had to survive for her daughter.
“In my head, I was like…you are not taking me away from my daughter.’ And I twisted myself around and I just started punching it over and over and over again.”
The shark inflicted serious damage to Stewart’s thigh and arms before help reached her.
Stewart was dragged from the water by a world champion paddleboarder who witnessed the attack and another bystander who swam out to assist, 60 Minutes reported. Both men recalled her being dragged underwater by the shark, and said she was lucid enough to respond to instructions.
Stewart also received life-saving care on the beach from Dr. Ian Ferguson, a trauma specialist who happened to be on scene and applied tourniquets to her injuries. Ferguson also drilled into the bone marrow of her shoulders to gain vascular access when her veins collapsed, according to the 60 Minutes report, which it hailed as a crucial life-saving measure.
Her injuries were so dire that, upon arrival at the hospital, she was categorized as being “not compatible with life,” the Australian news show added.
Stewart spent several weeks in intensive care, where she received treatment for her injuries, which she says have altered her ability to interact with her daughter, August, who she has not been able to pick up since the attack.
“August will put up her hands and she’ll want me to pick her up. I’m just desperate to; I just really want to pick her up and I just can’t.”
Thanking the bystanders and medical staff who saved her, Stewart said, “They’ve all played such an important piece in getting me to here now and I’m very very grateful for everything they’ve done for me and I don’t think I can say thank you enough.”
The attack on Stewart came within months of beaches in Sydney, and dozens more along Australia’s east coast, being closed after four people were attacked by sharks in two days.
Over the past 10 years, Australia has seen, on average, 27 shark incidents each year in which people were injured, with fewer than three of those resulting in fatalities, according to data from the Australian Shark Incident Database.
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