Shark bite survivor Leah Stewart shows 'cool scar' in recovery update
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Shark attack victim Leah Stewart has shown the extent of her leg wound. (Supplied: Instagram)
In short:
Leah Stewart says her leg wound has now healed and she is no longer at risk of infection.
The 35-year-old was attacked by a great white shark on June 13 at Coogee Beach in Sydney's east.
Ms Stewart underwent more than a dozen surgeries including the amputation of her left arm.
Almost five months after miraculously surviving a great white shark attack in Sydney's east, Leah Stewart says her leg wound has healed and she is no longer at risk of infection.
Ms Stewart was finishing up her swim at Coogee Beach on June 13 when she was mauled by a 4-metre-long great white shark.
The attack left her with multiple injuries and required more than a dozen operations, including the amputation of her left arm.
In an online update, Ms Stewart said the shark took a "chunk" of her leg and that doctors were unable to save her quad muscle and outer hamstring.
Leah Stewart shows the device that helped her wound heal. (Supplied: Instagram)
She said doctors used a surgical implement, DermaClose, to help gradually close the wound and despite not passing a skin graft her bite was finally able to scar.
"I am really proud of my own body and the amazing team at St Vincent's and I survived the great white, so I've got a cool scar to show for it," she said in the update.
Ms Stewart, who last week celebrated her 35th birthday, said recovering from her leg wound had "been a journey".
"But the fact of the matter is, I can use my legs and I don't have to wrap it up every time I have a shower or be worried about infection because now it is closed.
"So thank you for following along. I am just so happy this is the best update for me."
Ms Stewart also shared a video of her rescue on the day of the attack, showing lifesavers drag her to shore.
The teacher and mother from Coogee has spent months recovering from her injuries, being bitten across her arms and legs and suffering extreme blood loss.
Leah Stewart has now shown the full extent of her injuries. (Supplied: Stewart family)
She was placed in a medically induced coma for more than a week at St Vincent's Hospital.
In August she described in an interview the great white being only "30 centimetres" from her face.
"In my head, I was like, 'You ugly f***er, you are not taking me away from my daughter,'" she said.
"And I twisted myself around and I just started punching it over and over and over again. Just punch, punch, punch.
"It was like fighting a dinosaur. It was so big. It was like punching a brick wall."
Last week Ms Stewart said she was undergoing EMDR therapy to help her "process the event" which left her unable to sleep and suffer daily nightmares.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing is a treatment where the patient is asked to recall a traumatic or emotionally distressing memory while using guided eye movements.
"It's been life-changing for me. I feel like I'm finally getting my life back," she said.
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