Fearless girl, 10, returns back to same beach where shark attacked her last year as she warns swimmers to not make simple mistake she did

By LAUREN ACTON-TAYLOR, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:45, 6 April 2026 | Updated: 21:50, 6 April 2026 Almost one year after being attacked by a shark, a fearless girl returned to the same beach where she was nearly mauled to death. Leah Lendel was snorkeling off the Florida coast with her family when she was attacked near Fort Myers on June 12. She was nine years old at the time. In a terrifying moment, an eight-foot bull shark bit her right hand off and Lendel was rushed to hospital.  'My hand was all in blood,' she recalled to USA Today just days after the attack. 'I started screaming for my mom.'  Surgeons were able to reattach her hand, but the impact on her life will stay with her forever.  'I can't really play piano now,' she told CBS News. 'And I can't pick up more than eight pounds.' 'But me and my therapist are working for me to get my wrist strength back,' she added.  Lendel returned to the beach where she was attacked and now she is warning other swimmers not to make the same mistake as she did.  Leah Lendel, 9, bravely returned to the beach where her hand was bitten off by a shark last year with dreams of obtaining her snorkeling license Lendel's mother, Nadia seen above with her daughter, described her as 'fearless' as she asks to return to the scene of the incident Nadia Lendel said her daughter has also returned back into the water since the incident  'I would tell them that it's really rare that sharks even attack a person,' she told the outlet.  'And I would recommend not swimming in murky water.'  But despite the traumatic incident, Lendel was not deterred from living her life to the fullest and returning to the beach has helped her heal from the incident.  'We come out here often, per her request,' her mother Nadia Lendel told the outlet.  'We just sit and remember what happened, but also it was such a great outcome for her. She's alive.' Surgeons were able to reattach Lendel's hand, but the impact on her life will stay with her forever, as she is unable to play the piano the same nor lift more than eight pounds Nadia said that she hasn't been afraid to return to the water either.  'She's not afraid. She's fearless,' her mother added.  Now, Lendel holds onto her dream of getting a snorkeling license.   'I already went through all of the hard stuff. There's nothing more hard for me now,' Lendel said.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.