Shark Attack Survivor Details Near-Fatal Ordeal, Heart Stopped on Way to Hospital

Sydney mother Leah Stewart, 35, has shared new details about the severity of a shark attack she survived on June 13 at Coogee Beach, revealing her heart stopped as she was being transported to the hospital.

Stewart, a teacher, was swimming between the flags when she was attacked by a shark, believed to be a great white. She spent two weeks in a coma and underwent multiple surgeries, resulting in the amputation of her left arm below the elbow.

"I didn't know this until two weeks ago, that my heart actually stopped as they were taking me to the ambulance, and they were doing CPR," Stewart told 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham. She was recently reunited with the lifesavers who performed CPR after paddleboarder Charlie Verco pulled her ashore.

Stewart described the lifesavers' astonishment at her survival: "When they met me, they couldn't believe I was the same person. They just said, 'How are you speaking? How are you walking? How are you here?' They truthfully didn't think I would make it to the hospital and very nearly, I didn't."

During the attack, Stewart's primary motivation was to survive for her one-year-old daughter, August. "I'm like, 'You've got to give everything to get back to her,'" she said.

On the beach, Stewart struggled to breathe due to significant blood loss. "I think there was maybe five to 10 minutes where I could not breathe, and I knew that if I fainted, I probably wouldn't wake up again. And so I'm holding my breath just thinking, 'You cannot give up because you won't get back to her.'"

Three months after the attack, Stewart is still adapting to daily life. Her fiancé, Fernando, assists with tasks such as dressing and personal hygiene. Stewart explained, "It's really hard for me at the moment. What people don't see is that I have to sleep or be lying down most of the day. I'll do one of these events to come and see people, and then I'm out for the rest of the day. So I'm just building up my energy at the moment. I was very excited, just this week, I made my own coffee."

Stewart recently underwent a skin graft for an open wound on her left leg, which she described as looking like "a surfboard and you see a bite taken out of it by a shark." She noted that while the leg injury was severe, it received less attention than her arm amputation because it was not as visible.

She hopes to return to primary teaching and may visit her students and colleagues soon, aiming to encourage them with a message of resilience. "I would love to give them some encouragement that you can get through hard things. Because for me, this felt impossible."

Stewart is uncertain if she will ever return to the ocean but expressed a desire to swim in pools again to regain strength. "I'm not planning to go in the ocean, but I would love to get back to swimming in a pool because for me, that is my happy place. I've been doing it since I was six months old, and it's how I can get stronger. I don't know about the ocean. If the drones are up and there's a shark net, maybe yeah, eventually."

Stewart recently shared a photo of herself holding her daughter's hand, reflecting on her fortune. "I truly count myself lucky. I've still got a hand to hold hers. I'm slower now, but that means more time to stop and explore every ant, flower or leaf we pass. I missed a few months with her but get to spend the rest of my life appreciating every moment we do have."