A mother who was critically injured in a shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee Beach has had her arm amputated, according to her brother.
Leah Stewart, 35, was swimming about 30 metres from shore at the eastern suburbs beach on Saturday morning when she was attacked by a great white shark.
At the time, a friend was caring for her one-year-old daughter on the sand. Her husband was overseas when the attack happened, but has since returned to Australia to be with her.
Off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco used his paddleboard to reach Stewart and bring her back to shore as she drifted in and out of consciousness.
She was later airlifted to St Vincent’s Hospital in critical condition.
On Monday, her brother Joshua Stewart disclosed the severity of her injuries through a GoFundMe campaign set up in her support.
He described her injuries as ‘severe’ and ‘life-threatening’.
‘She has multiple bites across her arms and legs, lacerations and fractures throughout her body, and extreme blood loss,’ he wrote.
Leah Stewart, 35, was about 30 metres from the shore at Coogee Beach, in the city’s eastern suburbs, when she was attacked by a great white shark
Leah Stewart has a one-year-old daughter (pictured), who was with a friend on the sand when the shark attacked
Ms Stewart sustained critical injuries and her arm had to be amputated (scene pictured)
‘Leah remains in a critical condition on life support and has undergone multiple surgeries in the days after the attack.
‘Tragically, her treatment has required the amputation of her arm, and more surgeries are scheduled for the coming days.’
He said her recovery would be a long process and all donations would go towards rehabilitation, prosthetics and improving her quality of life.
Mr Stewart said his sister was swimming between the flags and close to the shore when the shark attacked.
He thanked the first responders who helped save her life.
Mr Verco, 25, was paddleboarding about 100m from Ms Stewart when the attack occurred.
He immediately paddled towards Ms Stewart and the shark and lifted her out of the water.
‘The water got very bloody and she got taken under and after a few seconds, popped up again and the shark had let her go,’ he told ABC News.
All funds raised will support Ms Stewart’s recovery, including prosthetics
Ms Stewart’s husband was overseas when the shark attacked, but he has now flown back to Australia
‘All I really wanted to do was to go to shore, obviously, but because I was the only one on any craft near her, I was, like, if I don’t, I’m not here to help her, no-one is.
‘She was lucid enough to say, “Help”, and respond to instruction, but she was very much in shock and definitely freaked out and wasn’t able to have conversation.
‘That was when I was able to actually get close enough to her and get her to grab the front of my board.’
Mr Verco said he tried to comfort her, telling her ‘We’re almost ashore’ and ‘You’re doing really well’ to take her mind off the severity of her injuries.
He realised she was too injured to climb onto the board, so he told her to hold onto a drink bottle holder on the front while he paddled.
‘About halfway into shore, she lost consciousness and I had to go grab her by the arm and just keep her head out of the water with one arm and paddle backwards with the other until we got close to shore there were lifeguards there ready to help.’
Ms Stewart, who has lived in Coogee for several years, swam 50km in November to raise funds for breast cancer research.
‘As a breastfeeding mum, I have a whole new appreciation for these incredible organs and want to do my part in supporting the fight against the most common cancer in women,’ she wrote on her fundraising page.
Leah Stewart was swimming near the shore and between the flags
Off-duty lifeguard Charlie Verco (pictured) was paddleboarding at the beach when he pulled Ms Stewart from the water
She and her partner welcomed their first child early last year.
The attack has renewed calls for a shark cull around Sydney’s beaches, which followed a series of bull shark attacks in January.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the government was exploring a bull shark cull but would not target great whites, which are protected under Australian law.
‘I’m not convinced it would work and we’ve certainly had no expert evidence suggesting to us that we could ward away great whites from our beaches as a result of a cull,’ he said.
‘The reality is those sharks may have come from New Zealand or crossed the Pacific Ocean. We haven’t received expert evidence or information that a cull would work.’
Coogee Beach was not being monitored by shark surveillance drones at the time of the attack because the area lies beneath a flight path.
However, authorities have since granted a special exemption allowing drones to temporarily monitor shark activity.
The shark that attacked Ms Stewart is believed to have been between three and four metres long.
