COOGEE BEACH, SYDNEY — A Sydney mother who survived a devastating shark attack is opening up about the terrifying moment she came face-to-face with what she believes was a massive great white — and the thought that drove her to fight for her life: her young daughter.

Leah Stewart, 34, was swimming near the shore at Sydney’s popular Coogee Beach on June 13 when the suspected great white shark attacked. The predator, estimated at roughly 11 feet long, seized her leg and inflicted catastrophic injuries to her arms and legs.

For Stewart, the attack was more than a fight to survive. It was a fight to make sure her daughter, August, would not grow up without her mother.

“I’ll never forget its face,” Stewart said in an emotional interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes. She described the shark as a “monster” and recalled realizing that she had to keep fighting.

She said her thoughts immediately turned to her daughter.

“She’s not going to have a mum,” Stewart recalled thinking as the shark held onto her leg.

“I couldn’t handle that. I didn’t want her to not have a mum. I just thought, I’ve got to fight it, do everything I can to be here.”

A DESPERATE FIGHT TO SURVIVE
The attack left Stewart with severe bites, deep lacerations, fractured bones and massive blood loss. Her injuries were so serious that doctors were forced to perform multiple operations, including an amputation of her arm.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene as Stewart was pulled from the water, with blood spreading through the ocean.

An off-duty lifesaver, Charlie Verco, paddled into the bloodied water and helped bring her back toward shore. Members of the public and medical responders then worked urgently to control her bleeding, including applying tourniquets, before she was taken to hospital.

Stewart was placed in intensive care and spent weeks undergoing treatment and surgeries.

At one point, her condition was so critical that her family feared they could lose her.

HER FIRST WORDS AFTER THE COMA
In a remarkable development during her recovery, doctors were eventually able to reduce Stewart’s sedation and briefly bring her out of an induced coma.

Her first words were directed toward the people beside her.

“I love you,” she told her mother and partner, Fernando, who had remained at her bedside.

But even after everything she had endured, her first thoughts quickly turned to her daughter. Stewart wanted to know whether August was okay.

Her family described the moment as a miracle and said her progress was happening faster than doctors had expected.

Stewart still faces a long and difficult recovery, with further medical treatment and rehabilitation expected.

A COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND HER
As Stewart fought to recover, an extraordinary wave of support grew around her family.

Thousands of dollars were raised to help cover the enormous costs associated with her recovery, including long-term medical care and prosthetic needs. In a later update, Stewart thanked supporters and said she felt as though she had been given a “second chance at life.”

Hundreds of swimmers also gathered at Coogee Beach in a show of solidarity for the mother and her family.

The attack has also reignited debate in Australia over how beaches can be made safer as authorities confront the ongoing risk posed by sharks.

Following the incident, officials expanded shark-monitoring efforts, including drone surveillance, while the New South Wales government announced additional funding for shark-attack mitigation measures. Officials have stressed, however, that no system can completely eliminate the presence of sharks from the ocean.

‘I’VE BEEN GIVEN A SECOND CHANCE’
For Stewart, the focus now is no longer on the attack itself but on what comes next.

After surviving an encounter that could have ended her life, she says she wants to use the opportunity she has been given to rebuild her independence and be there for her daughter.

“I feel like I’ve been given a second chance at life,” Stewart said in a message to supporters. “I’m not going to waste it.”

Her recovery is far from over. But the mother who once feared her daughter might grow up without her is now looking toward a future she fought extraordinarily hard to reach.

One terrifying encounter changed Leah Stewart’s life forever. But it did not take away the one thing that kept her fighting — her determination to get back to her daughter.