Sydney shark attack survivor awake, alert and ‘remembers the whole event in detail’, brother says

Leah Stewart with her daughter. Stewart is no longer in a critical condition after being attacked by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach. Photograph: Gofundme Leah Stewart with her daughter. Stewart is no longer in a critical condition after being attacked by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee beach. Photograph: Gofundme Sydney shark attack survivor awake, alert and ‘remembers the whole event in detail’, brother says Australian woman Leah Stewart no longer in critical condition but doesn’t yet have use of her hand Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast A woman who was attacked by a shark at Sydney’s Coogee’s beach is no longer in a critical condition and “remembers the whole event in detail”, her brother has said. Leah Stewart’s brother, Joshua, provided the update on a fundraising site on Thursday, writing that it was “amazing to hear from her so much sooner than anyone expected” and that she had been “overjoyed” to see her daughter for the first time since the incident almost two weeks ago . The 34-year-old teacher will remain in hospital as she continues to recover from surgeries – including an arm amputation. “Her remaining arm has severe tendon and nerve damage which will require further repair and intensive rehabilitation,” he wrote, adding she did not yet have use of her hand. A shark attacked a swimmer at a popular Sydney beach. How rare is it – and how can you stay safe? Read more “Leah still has a long way to go, with an extensive recovery and rehabilitation process that will have her in and out of surgery through the coming weeks. Leah has shown she is so strong, fighting to come back to her daughter August.” Sydney beaches have been closed for three days in a row due to great white shark sightings, with one expert warning the predators were coming close to shore to feed on “big balls of salmon off the beaches right now”. Bondi beach was briefly shut on Sunday due to a sighting and then again on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after local authorities were alerted to great whites. Other beaches in the Waverley council area, including Tamarama and Bronte, were also closed, along with beaches in the neighbouring Randwick council area, including Clovelly and Maroubra. Drone footage posted to social media by the Drone Shark App showed both great white and tiger sharks at Bondi. ‘They follow the salmon’ The New South Wales department of primary industries said locals “will have noticed the increasing detections of white sharks on our tagged shark listening stations” but noted “this is not an uncommon occurrence at this time of year”. Marine biologist and shark expert Rob Harcourt – a regular swimer at Bondi – said it was the “peak time of year when they swim past”. “They follow the Australian salmon, which migrate up the coast,” the Macquarie University emeritus professor said. “And there are big balls of salmon off the beaches right now. Multiple shark species are coming in to feed on the salmon, because they’re big, fat, juicy a