Source : Perth Now news
The family of a shark attack victim have provided an update on the Sydney mum’s condition, thanking the community for their support.
Leah Stewart was attacked at Coogee beach on June 13.
She suffered life-threatening injuries with bites to her arms and legs, multiple fractured bones and massive blood loss.
Last week, her brother Josh said the beloved mum had woken from a coma.
In a further update on Saturday, Josh thanked the community for their ongoing support.
“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 said.
“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.
“They’ve given her real comfort and strength.”
Josh said in an update last week that after 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.
“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 said.
Meanwhile, the fundraiser set up by Mr Stewart has garnered more than $540,000, including $5000 from Bunnings and $2240 from the 4Seasons Swimmers Bondi.
The NSW government announced on Wednesday it would fly drones above beaches year-round in the wake of a series of shark attacks.
The state government has set aside $87m extra for shark mitigation in the budget, with more funding to come, but which beaches will have eyes in the sky is still to be confirmed.
