{"id":17765,"date":"2026-06-26T04:28:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:28:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=17765"},"modified":"2026-06-26T04:28:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:28:37","slug":"sydney-shark-attack-victim-overjoyed-to-be-reunited-with-daughter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=17765","title":{"rendered":"Sydney shark attack victim ‘overjoyed’ to be reunited with daughter"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Sydney woman who has been in a critical condition in hospital for 12 days after being mauled by a shark has woken from an induced coma and reunited with her young daughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Leah Stewart has undergone a series of surgeries to amputate her arm and address other “life-threatening” injuries since the attack at Coogee Beach on June 13.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In an update on Thursday, the 34-year-old’s brother, Joshua Stewart, said she was awake, no longer in a critical condition, and speaking with loved ones and her medical team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It’s amazing to hear from her so much sooner than anyone expected,” he said in a statement.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The statement said Ms Stewart was grateful to the medical team treating her and the public for their messages of support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“In time Leah will want to share more of her story, she remembers the whole event in detail, but for now is focused on resting and healing as her doctors support her in pain management, tests, regaining some movement and preparing her for further surgeries tomorrow,” Mr Stewart said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Leah still has a long way to go, with an extensive recovery and rehabilitation process that will have her in and out of surgery through the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“Leah has shown she is so strong, fighting to come back to her daughter August.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Stewart said his sister did not yet have use of her hand because a severed tendon and nerve damage in her arm would require further treatment and intensive rehabilitation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Coogee<\/div>
Leah Stewart’s brother said she was reunited with her daughter on 24 June.<\/p>\n

Screengrab \/ GoFundMe<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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‘Like a miracle’<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
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Ms Stewart was swimming between the flags when she was bitten by what is believed to be a white shark.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The teacher was dragged to shore by an off-duty lifeguard on a paddleboard and rushed to hospital in a critical condition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The injuries to her back, arms and legs were so severe that her arm was amputated and she was placed on life support.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Earlier this week, Mr Stewart revealed she was briefly taken out of a coma and told her mother and partner Fernando she loved them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“For us, this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week,” he said at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It occurred almost a week after 1,000 people turned out at Coogee Beach for a community swim-out in support of Ms Stewart.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The event was held in solidarity with the Stewart family and to encourage locals to return to the water.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Surveillance drones, lifeguards on jet skis and inflatable rescue boats were provided to reassure swimmers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Mayor of Randwick City Council, Dylan Parker, said the turnout sent a clear message the community’s heart went out to Ms Stewart as she recovered.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“It is a community coming together to wrap our arms around Leah, but also to come back to our special place, Coogee Beach,” he said.<\/p>\n

rnz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Sydney woman who has been in a critical condition in hospital for 12 days after being mauled by a shark has woken from an induced coma and reunited with her young daughter. Leah Stewart has undergone a series of surgeries to amputate her arm and address other “life-threatening” injuries since the attack at Coogee […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[222],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17765"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17766,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17765\/revisions\/17766"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}