Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart's emotional midnight ritual after losing arm to great white

By KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 22:19, 5 July 2026 | Updated: 22:19, 5 July 2026 Young mum Leah Stewart has found comfort in a nightly ritual since surviving a shark attack, reading messages of love and support whenever she wakes during the night.  Teacher Leah Stewart, 34, was left fighting for life after a great white shark attack while swimming between the flags at Sydney's Coogee Beach on June 13. She spent two weeks in a coma and has undergone multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one of her arms. Ms Stewart remains in hospital in a stable condition, where she has since been reunited with her baby daughter, August. Her brother provided an update on Sunday, admitting Ms Stewart has had some sleepless nights since waking from her coma. 'We’ve been sharing some of the beautiful messages we’ve received with Leah and she’s loved them, finding inspiration from the care and love you’ve all shared,' he wrote. 'Leah has had some challenging days but has found real strength from your kindness and support, and wanted to pass on a huge thank you to everyone who has shared her story, sent her uplifting messages and supported her. 'Since the incident Leah has had difficulty sleeping, and on those nights she’s been reading back through your messages, not only from her family and community in Australia and her whānau in New Zealand, but also from people all across the world.' Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart has had some 'challenging' days in recent weeks The mother-of-one has undergone multiple surgeries, including amputation of one of her arms. The teacher was left fighting for life following the great white shark attack while swimming between the flags at Coogee Beach on June 13. 'They’ve given her real comfort and strength.' He added that Ms Stewart is 'beyond overwhelmed' by the support she has received and that her story has resonated with so many people. Ms Stewart also suffered nerve and tendon damage to her other arm but is expected to regain full use of it over time. '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,' her brother previously revealed. A fundraiser to help Ms Stewart with her rehabilitation, prosthetics and medical bills has raised more than $540,000 in recent weeks. The NSW government has since invested an additional $34 million in a major expansion of drone coverage at beaches across Sydney and the state's coastline. Dozens of beaches — including at least one in every coastal local government area - will benefit from a fleet of drones watching over them 365 days a year. 'No one can promise a shark mitigation program that can guarantee that there will be zero encounters with sharks,' Premier Chris Minns told reporters. Leah Stewart has taken comfort and strength from the messages of support received 'But our plan here is to reduce the risk for swimmers and surfers in NSW beaches by using the latest technology ... so that you get earlier warning if you're in the water that there is a shark in the vicinity.' The program could eventually culminate in the use of autonomous, AI-enabled drones, rather than human-controlled craft. 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.