Shark attack victim Leah Stewart wakes up from her coma in miraculous update - as her brother reveals her first words

By AIDAN WONDRACZ, ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR, AUSTRALIA Published: 00:14, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 00:27, 24 June 2026 A mother left fighting for life after being attacked by a shark has been brought out of her coma as her first words to her family are revealed. Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on June 13. She was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition and underwent an arm amputation, among other surgeries. Ms Stewart's family have been providing updates on her recovery, with her brother Joshua sharing an incredible message on Wednesday.  'After a week of life-support and repeat surgeries, doctors were able to extubate Leah and reduce her level of sedation to bring her out of the induced coma for a short period of time,' he said. 'This allowed Leah to share her first words, "I love you", with her mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident. 'Her first thoughts were with her daughter August and wanted to check she was okay. 'This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week.' A mother left fighting for life after being attacked by a shark has been brought out of her coma Ms Stewart was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition and underwent an arm amputation, among other surgeries (pictured, a closed beach sign raised following the attack) Ms Stewart still faces a long recovery ahead, with the mother to remain in the intensive care unit. 'She has undergone five days of surgery over the past week, and is scheduled for further surgeries today and more through the coming weeks,' Joshua said. 'Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah's long term recovery. 'Again thank you so much for everyone who continues to support Leah, through your care, prayer, love and generosity.' A fundraiser to help Ms Stewart with her rehabilitation, prosthetics and medical bills had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the figure sitting at $488,000. An off-duty lifeguard, who was paddleboarding at Coogee, rushed over to help Ms Stewart on the day she was attacked by the shark. Charlie Verco pulled her onto his paddleboard where she passed out as he made his way back to shore. She was given multiple blood transfusions on the beach before being airlifted to St Vincent's. Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on June 13 The primary school teacher, who works at Hurstville Adventist School, was then put on life support. Coogee Beach was not being monitored by shark surveillance drones when the attack unfolded because the area lies beneath a flight path.  Authorities were later given an exemption for drones to temporarily monitor shark activity.  The shark involved is believed to have been between three and four metres long. One person said they knew her when she worked as a teacher at Sydney Adventist School in Auburn about 10 years ago. 'My friend and I had been watching Australian Survivor and were discussing the finale,' they wrote. 'Miss Stewart overheard, asked if we were talking about Survivor, and quickly said, 'Don't tell me who won, I haven't seen it yet'.' 'She then said she wanted to go on Survivor - well 10 years later, she is a survivor. 'She will take on the challenges and come out on top. I wish you, her, and your families nothing but the best,' they wrote. 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.