Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart shares progress on leg wound recovery

Leah Stewart, a 35-year-old teacher and mother, announced that her leg wound from a great white shark attack has finally healed.

The attack occurred on June 13 at Coogee Beach in eastern Sydney, Australia, while she was finishing a swim. Stewart underwent more than a dozen operations following the attack, which resulted in the amputation of her left arm.

Doctors used a tool called DermaClose to gradually close the wound on her leg after she lost her quad muscle and outer hamstring. Stewart stated that the wound is now closed, which means she no longer needs to wrap it during showers or worry about infections. The survivor also shared her experience with the mental health impacts of the event.

She began using Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, a therapy involving guided eye movements to process traumatic memories, to manage nightmares and sleep issues. She reported that the treatment helped her begin to reclaim her life after the trauma of the encounter.