Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old Australian woman, survived a shark attack on June 13 at Coogee Beach in Sydney, where she was bitten by what is suspected to be a 3.5-meter great white shark. She suffered life-threatening injuries and had one of her arms amputated after undergoing several surgeries. Stewart's recovery has been remarkable, with nearly $559,000 raised through a GoFundMe page set up by her brother for rehabilitation, prosthetics, and medical treatment. The attack was part of a series of deadly shark attacks in Australia this year, which have included four people being attacked over two days in January.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old Australian woman, was attacked by a suspected 3.5-metre great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach in Sydney on June 13th. The attack left her with life-threatening injuries, including bites to her arms and legs, and she was placed in a medically induced coma for nearly two weeks. One of her arms was later amputated as part of her recovery. Despite the challenges, Stewart has made remarkable progress, regaining some independence and even expressing gratitude for being given a "second chance at life". Her family set up a GoFundMe page to support her rehabilitation, prosthetics, and ongoing medical treatment, which raised nearly A$559,000 (or £293,000). In a post on the page, Stewart thanked her supporters and expressed her determination not to waste this second chance, saying "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."
Written for “Shark Attack Survivor Story” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 1958 · logged 2026-08-28
An Australian woman who lost an arm in a shark attack said thoughts of her young daughter drove her to fight for her life as she faced the "monster".
asserted
she → lose → monster
Leah Stewart, 34, was attacked while swimming near the shoreline at Sydney’s Coogee Beach on 13 June.
asserted
Stewart → attack → June
The schoolteacher suffered life-threatening injuries after being bitten on her arms and legs by what was suspected to be 3.5-metre great white shark.
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what → suffer → arms
Ms Stewart underwent several surgeries, was placed in a medically induced coma for nearly two weeks and later had one of her arms amputated.
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one → undergo → arms
In her first public remarks since the attack, Ms Stewart said she had made enough progress to regain some independence and was beginning to see a way forward.
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she → say → way
"After what has been an incredibly difficult few months, I am so happy that I have progressed enough to build some independence and I can finally see some light after all of this," she wrote in an update posted on her GoFundMe page.
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she → progress → page
The fundraiser, set up by her brother shortly after the attack, collected nearly A$559,000 (£293,000) to support her rehabilitation, prosthetics, and ongoing medical treatment.
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fundraiser → set → rehabilitation
Ms Stewart said the family was closing the fundraiser as the donations had provided enough support for her recovery and future treatment.
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donations → say → recovery
"What you have offered has given us enough to recover, to stay in our home, and to give us options for further medical treatment down the road," she said.
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she → offer → road
She had spent recent weeks concentrating on her recovery and trying to return to "some sort of normal life”.
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She → spend → life
“I still have a long way to go, but my recovery has been remarkable,” Ms Stewart said, “and a huge part of that is because of the absolute army of love, support, prayers and encouragement surrounding my family and I from all over the world."
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part → have → world
Ms Stewart said she had been overwhelmed by the support she had received from friends, family and strangers.
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she → say → friends
"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," she wrote.
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she → want → it
"You've inspired me to get better, not bitter."
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You → inspire → me
In an emotional interview with Nine aired this weekend, Ms Stewart recalled coming face to face with the shark and fearing her daughter, August, would grow up without her.
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daughter → air → her
"Its face was horrific," she said.
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she → say → ?
“I will never forget.
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I → forget → ?
“I was holding onto my leg and I just thought of August.
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I → hold → August
And I thought she’s not going to have a mum.
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she → think → mum
I couldn’t handle that.
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I → handle → that
I did not want her to grow up without a mum,” she added.
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she → want → mum
"I just thought, ‘I’ve got to fight it and do everything I can to be here’.
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I → think → everything
Australia has seen a series of deadly shark attacks this year.
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Australia → see → attacks
Four people were attacked over two days in January, including a 12-year-old boy who later died of his injuries.
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who → attack → injuries
A man was killed while spearfishing in Queensland in May, and a father of two died after being attacked by a four-metre shark in Western Australia.
uncertain
father → kill → Australia
