Mom Who Survived Great White Shark Attack Shares Devastating Setback Three Months Later: ‘Quite a Few Tears’

More than three months after surviving a great white shark attack that nearly took her life, Leah Stewart has revealed that a crucial part of her recovery has failed.

The 34-year-old mother suffered life-threatening injuries while swimming at Australia’s Coogee Beach on June 13. She spent 10 days in a coma, lost an arm and endured extensive treatment after the attack.

Now, Stewart has shared another difficult development: a skin graft intended to help repair injuries to her leg has been unsuccessful.

‘This Is Not the Post I Was Wanting to Do’

Stewart revealed the setback in a candid video posted on Monday, September 21.

“Unfortunately, this is not the post I was wanting to do,” she said, explaining that doctors had examined the graft the previous day and confirmed that it had failed.

The news hit her hard.

Stewart said she was feeling “pretty devastated” and admitted there had been “quite a few tears” as she tried to process what the failed procedure meant for the next stage of her recovery.

Three and a half months after the shark attack, she said the wound on her leg remains open.

For now, doctors are trying a different approach. Stewart said she is taking a break from the vacuum-assisted wound treatment she had been using, which at least gives her slightly more freedom to move.

She Nervously Showed the Result

During the video, Stewart admitted she felt “a little nervous” about showing viewers her injuries.

She turned the camera toward her right leg, where surgeons had removed healthy skin to use for the graft on her left leg.

The donor area remained raw but was healing.

The devastating part was what happened after that skin was transplanted.

“Unfortunately, checked yesterday, it didn’t work,” Stewart said.

Still, she ended the update with a simple determination to continue: “Anyway, we keep moving forward.”

She captioned the video, “Not the update I was hoping for…”

Her Heart Stopped After the Shark Attack

The failed graft is the latest challenge in a recovery that began with Stewart coming extraordinarily close to death.

She recently revealed that she only learned weeks later just how critical her condition had been immediately after the shark attack.

Her heart stopped while rescuers were moving her toward the ambulance, Stewart said. She was given CPR and needed others to breathe for her.

“There were so many split-second moments where if the exact right person wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be here,” she recalled.

Stewart said rescuers did not believe she would survive long enough to reach the hospital — and she very nearly did not.

She suffered severe blood loss and was placed on life support following the attack.

Her First Thought Was Her 1-Year-Old Daughter

Amid the chaos, Stewart’s family said her immediate concern was not for herself.

Her brother Joshua Stewart previously wrote that Leah’s first thought was her 1-year-old daughter, August, and that she immediately wanted to know whether her child was safe.

A verified fundraiser established by Joshua ultimately raised approximately $400,000 to support Stewart and her family before being closed.

Now, more than three months after the morning swim that changed her life, Stewart is facing another uncertain stage of recovery.

The graft she hoped would move that recovery forward has failed, her leg has yet to fully heal, and doctors are trying a different approach. Despite admitting to tears and devastation over the setback, Stewart’s message remained focused on continuing forward.