Mom who lost her arm in shark attack recalls agonizing decision she made in fight to survive
A mother who lost her arm in a devestating shark attack has recalled the life-changing decision she had to make after being attacked by a 'monster'.
On June 13 this year, Leah Stewart was attacked by a great white shark as she swam just 100 feet off Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Sitting down on Australia’s 60 Minutes, Stewart, 34, recalled having to make an agonizing decision to ultimately save her life, which involved her choosing 'which limb am I willing to lose'.
"It got to the point where it was about 30 centimeters from my face and it sort of started opening its mouth," Stewart said.
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"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'.
"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."
"I was holding onto my leg and I just thought of August. And I thought… she’s not going to have a mom," she added.
The teacher and mother to one-year-daughter August was forced to have her left arm amputated following the shark attack, which has been devestating.
However, Stewart is counting herself lucky that she'e alive and is able to see her young daughter grow up.
Stewart was ultimately saved by an off-duty lifeguard, who pulled her from the water. She was rushed to hospital having 'sustained severe and life-threatening injuries with multiple bites across her arms and legs', her bother Joshua explained in a fundraiser.
Ten days after the attack, on June 23, Joshua shared an update that his sibling had been brought out of an induced coma.
"This allowed Leah to share her first words ‘I love you’ with her mum and partner Fernando," Joshua added on the fundraiser, which has since been closed.
"Her first thoughts were with her daughter August and wanted to check she was OK. This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle."
A whopping $400,000 has been raised to help aid Stewart's recovery, with the teacher continuing her rehabilitation.
In a recent social media post, Stewart said she's been left 'constantly overwhelmed' by the generosity of the wider community after a staggering number of donations.
She wrote in a post on Sunday: "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.
"Once again, I don’t feel like I can say thank you enough. I want you to know that I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life, and I’m not going to waste it."
Callum Jones