Family issue tragic plea as mum's arm amputated after horrific shark attack

The family of a woman who lost an arm in a shark attack while she was on a morning swim have appealed for help.

Leah Stewart had been swimming in the sea at Coogee Beach, Sydney, when she suffered 'severe and life-threatening injuries' in a shark attack.

Her brother Josh told people Leah had suffered 'multiple bites across her arms and legs' as well as 'extreme blood loss', explaining that she was in a critical condition and on life support.

The brother added that Leah's injuries had been so severe that she has had to have an arm amputated and has other surgeries scheduled.

"As a family we are shocked and devastated that this could happen to our beloved partner, daughter and mother who is so full of life and energy," he wrote on a GoFundMe.

Leah Stewart is in hospital and has had to have an arm amputated after a shark attack (GoFundMe)

The funds raised will go towards supporting Leah as she faces 'a long road to recovery', with the 35-year-old requiring rehabilitation and prosthetics, and will need to make many adjustments in her life as she recovers.

Leah had also recently become a mother as she has a one-year-old daughter, as uncle Josh said his sister would want to 'return to her life being an amazing mum'.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that a friend of Leah's was looking after her daughter on the beach while she went for her morning swim within the confines of the beach's safety flags and was attacked by the shark.

Leah's partner has also returned to Australia to support her, the couple are both capable swimmers as in 2024 they both entered the Coogee Island Challenge, an ocean swimming event where participants swim from Coogee Beach to Wedding Cake Island and back.

Her family are appealing for help as she faces a long and arduous rehabilitation process (GoFundMe)

The shark attack was spotted by Charlie Verco, an off-duty lifeguard and paddleboarder, who told 9 News he saw the mum get dragged underwater and went over to help.

“I started paddling out to see if everything was alright, and I could see something in the water," he said.

There was a lot of blood in the water. I couldn't really see what was going on. She popped up and [the shark] let her go, and that was when I got close enough to grab her and put her on my board and take her to shore.”

He later told The Guardian that the shark was one of the biggest he'd seen.

He said: "The shark surfaced, I saw its dorsal fin – it was big, about 3.5 metres. I’ve only ever seen one shark bigger than that, and that was a tiger shark in Hawaii."