AN AUSSIE mum has miraculously woken up from a coma more than a week after she was mauled by a great white shark in a terrifying attack.
Leah Stewart, 35, had been enjoying a day at Coogee Beach in Sydney when the ocean predator savaged her in the water.
After more than a week in a medically induced coma, she has woken up and said her first words.
Her brother Josh revealed she said “I love you” after opening her eyes in what her family is calling a “miracle”.
Leah suffered life-threatening injuries when the vicious 12ft creature mauled her arms and legs, leaving her with multiple fractured bones and a huge amount of blood loss.
On Wednesday, Josh said “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”, following a week of life support and several surgeries.
“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,” Josh said.
He added that she had asked about her beloved daughter August, wanting to make sure she was ok.
Josh also revealed her recovery was progressing “a lot faster than anyone expected”.
“For us this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week,” he said.
Leah was attacked at the popular beach on June 13 and would stay in the intensive care unit for some time, Josh added.
“She has undergone five days of surgery over the past week, and is scheduled for further surgeries today and more through the coming weeks,” he said.
“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.
“Again thank you so much for everyone who continues to support Leah, through your care, prayer, love and generosity.”
Over the weekend hundreds of swimmers gathered at Coogee Beach in freezing conditions in solidarity with Leah.
Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker said the event was “community at its best”.
“Being out there with the thousands of swimmers, you can just feel the warmth in what was pretty fresh water,” he said.
The NSW government also announced it would start flying drones above beaches on a year-round basis following a spate of shark attacks.
An extra £45.2 million ($87 million AUD) has since been set aside by the state government for shark attack mitigation and more funding is slated to come.
Premier Chris Minns said shark sightings and attack numbers had risen.
“As a kid I used to surf from Mona Vale to Maroubra. The idea that I’m not comfortably able to do that any more in my own backyard really hurts,” Mr Minns told local media on Wednesday.
“It hurts a lot knowing that maybe something more can be done.”
As government departments decide which beaches would be covered, Mr Minns did say that the major beaches in Sydney – including popular tourist spots in the north and south – would “certainly” be selected.
“I’ve got a question mark over the number of beaches that can be covered,” he said.
“We’ll have an announcement in relation to that very soon, including new money, including the use of new technology.”
He added that nothing could completely remove the presence or threat of sharks.
“I can’t come on the program and promise that this will solve all of the problems or even that this won’t happen again,” Mr Minns said.
“Some days (the great whites will) be in Hawaii, the next day they might be in New Zealand, and then the next day they might be off the coast of one of our Australian beaches. And that’s what we have to live with.
“We can mitigate it, but we cannot make it shark-proof.”
The east-coast state saw four shark attacks in over two days in January, one of which claimed the life of a 12-year-old boy.
