Leah Stewart has shared another update from her long recovery after surviving a shark attack at Sydney’s Coogee Beach earlier this year, revealing that a recent skin graft has unfortunately failed.
The 35-year-old mother has been documenting her recovery since the June 13 incident, when she was seriously injured while swimming close to shore. The attack resulted in the loss of her left lower arm and extensive injuries to her legs and other parts of her body.
Now, more than three months later, Stewart says she is facing another setback — but remains determined to continue moving forward.
In an update shared with her followers, Stewart explained that doctors had recently checked her latest skin graft and confirmed that it had not taken.
It was not the news she had been hoping for.
Stewart said she felt devastated by the result and admitted that she had shed quite a few tears after learning that the procedure had not worked.
Her latest update comes around three and a half months after the Coogee Beach incident, and she said the wound on her leg remains open.
The procedure had been part of an effort to help repair the serious injury to her left leg. Skin was taken from her right thigh and placed over the affected area, but the graft ultimately failed.
Despite the disappointment, Stewart said her medical team is now trying a different approach.
She is taking a temporary break from the vacuum-assisted closure, or VAC, system that has been used during her treatment. The device uses controlled suction to help support wound healing and secure a graft in place.
For Stewart, stepping away from the machine also means she can move around a little more freely.
She even decided to show her followers her leg for the first time, explaining that many people may not understand what the area looks like during the recovery process.
The skin taken from her right thigh is still healing, she explained, while the graft placed on her left leg unfortunately did not work.
Her message to followers ended on a much more determined note: despite another setback, she intends to keep moving forward.
A recovery that has taken months
Stewart’s latest update is another chapter in a recovery that has already involved extensive medical treatment.
The Coogee Beach incident happened on June 13 while she was swimming between the flags and relatively close to shore.
She encountered a large great white shark and suffered severe injuries during the encounter.
In the weeks that followed, Stewart spent time in intensive care, underwent numerous operations and had her left arm amputated below the elbow.
She was also placed in an induced coma for about 10 days as doctors worked to stabilize her condition.
Earlier this year, Stewart began sharing more of her experience publicly, giving people a glimpse into both the physical and emotional challenges of rebuilding her life after the incident.
Her recovery has not been a straight line.
There have been encouraging moments, difficult procedures and unexpected setbacks. The failed graft is the latest challenge, but Stewart has continued to communicate openly with the people following her journey.
She recently shared more about the moment she survived
Before this latest medical update, Stewart spoke publicly about the incident for the first time in an interview with Australia’s 60 Minutes.
She described seeing the shark in the water and realizing how close it was before the encounter.
Stewart said thoughts of her young daughter, August, became a powerful source of motivation as she fought to get back to shore.
She also described striking the shark during the struggle before it eventually released her.
Her account provided a more personal look at an incident that had previously been known mostly through emergency reports and hospital updates.
The interview also attracted criticism from some people online who questioned portions of her recollection.
Others pushed back against those comments, arguing that surviving such a traumatic event does not mean every detail of a person’s memory has to be understood in the same way by outside observers.
For Stewart, however, the focus has remained on recovery rather than the online debate.
The road ahead
The failed graft means Stewart’s recovery is taking another unexpected turn.
Doctors will now determine what approach should come next as they continue working on the wound in her leg.
For now, she is giving the area time to heal while trying a different treatment strategy.
It is another reminder that major physical recovery can take far longer than expected, particularly after extensive injuries.
Stewart has already spent months undergoing treatment and adjusting to major changes in her daily life. She has also had to learn how to move forward after losing part of her left arm.
Yet her latest message does not suggest she is giving up.
Instead, she acknowledged the disappointment while focusing on what comes next.
Three and a half months after the Coogee Beach incident, her recovery is still very much underway.
The latest skin graft may not have worked, but Stewart is continuing to work with her medical team and explore the next step.
For the mother of one, the journey now is less about how quickly she can return to her old life and more about finding a way forward, one stage at a time.
And despite the latest setback, her message remains simple: keep moving forward.