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After spending 10 days in an induced coma following a shark attack on a Sydney, Australia beach, a woman uttered her first three words this week.
Leah Stewart awoke and told her family, “I love you” on Tuesday while recuperating at a hospital, according to her brother, who wrote the update on a fundraising page.
“After a week of life-support and repeat[ed] 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,” Stewart 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.”
He added that his sister’s “first thoughts were with her daughter August,” asking if she was OK.
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Leah Stewart was asking about her daughter after she briefly awoke from her induced coma Tuesday. (GoFundMe)
The mid-30s mother and teacher has already been through five surgeries, including having an arm amputated.
She had been airlifted to a hospital in critical condition on the morning of June 13 at Coogee Beach, a popular weekend destination, after a shark bit her legs and arms.
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Stewart told her family that she loved them. (GoFundMe)
Stewart was swimming near shore while a friend watched her daughter on the beach when the attack happened, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“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,” Stewart wrote on a fundraising page.
Police and emergency personnel at the scene after a shark attack at Coogee Beach in Sydney, Australia, June 13. (Reuters/Hollie Adams)
He added, “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.”
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Stewart’s attack came after three men have been killed by sharks in Australia since May. A 12-year-old boy was also killed by a shark in Sydney Harbor in January.