LEAH STEWART: MOTHER SURVIVES HORRIFIC SHARK ATTACK AFTER TWO-WEEK COMA

A young Australian mother has opened up about the terrifying moment a suspected 11-foot great white shark attacked her off Sydney’s Coogee Beach — an encounter that left her fighting for her life and ultimately cost her an arm.

Leah Stewart, 34, was swimming at the popular beach in June when the shark suddenly grabbed her leg.

In the seconds that followed, Leah said she thought about her young daughter, August, and realized she had to fight to survive.

“I’ve got to fight it, do everything I can to be here.”

She later spent two weeks in a coma and underwent numerous operations as doctors worked to save her life.

“I’LL NEVER FORGET ITS FACE”

Leah recently relived the attack during an emotional interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes.

Fighting back tears, she described the animal as a “monster” and said its face remains burned into her memory.

She recalled the shark holding onto her leg while she thought about her daughter growing up without a mother.

That thought became her motivation to survive.

 A DESPERATE FIGHT FOR SURVIVAL

The attack left Leah with devastating injuries, including severe bites and lacerations as well as fractures to her arm and leg.

Witnesses described the water as filled with blood as beachgoers and off-duty medical professionals rushed to help.

Responders applied tourniquets in an effort to control the severe bleeding before Leah was taken for emergency medical treatment.

Doctors eventually had to amputate her arm.

The road to recovery has involved numerous surgeries and an enormous physical and emotional challenge.

 THEN CAME AN EXTRAORDINARY SHOW OF SUPPORT

As Leah continued recovering, supporters rallied around her family.

A fundraiser raised approximately £289,000 to help with her recovery.

Leah later closed the fundraiser, saying she was overwhelmed by the generosity and felt she had been given a “second chance at life.”

She said she hopes to use that second chance to give back through generosity, care and love.

 “SHE’S NOT GOING TO HAVE A MUM”

Perhaps the most heartbreaking part of Leah’s story is what was going through her mind while she was fighting the shark.

She wasn’t thinking about herself alone.

She was thinking about her daughter.

The fear that August might grow up without her mother became the reason Leah refused to give up.

That moment has remained at the center of her account of the attack.

 AN ATTACK THAT LEFT A BEACH IN SHOCK

The incident sent shockwaves through the Sydney community.

Beachgoers reportedly heard a scream when the shark struck, followed by an alert warning swimmers about the attack.

The beach was subsequently closed as emergency crews responded.

The attack also occurred during a year in which Australia has experienced a number of serious shark incidents, including several attacks earlier in 2026.

 FROM SURVIVAL TO A SECOND CHANCE

Months after the attack, Leah’s life looks completely different.

She is learning to regain independence while adapting to injuries that will affect her for the rest of her life.

But her message is not simply about what she lost.

It is about what she survived.

A mother entered the ocean for a swim.

A massive shark attacked.

She spent weeks in a coma.

She endured multiple operations and lost an arm.

And somehow, she made it home to her daughter.

A terrifying encounter nearly changed everything.

But Leah Stewart survived — and says she intends to make every moment of her second chance count.