Stewart showed her recent skin grafts in a social media post. Photo: Leah Stewart // Instagram
The survivor of a shark attack in Coogee, Australia, has shared a disappointing update. According to an update on Leah Stewart’s Instagram, a skin graft she had recently undergone was confirmed to have failed.
Stewart underwent surgery to administer the graft just a week ago, when she had skin from her right thigh transferred to her left. The procedure was the result of an injury Stewart endured in June, when the 35-year-old primary school teacher was taking a morning swim at Coogee Beach, outside of Sydney, and was attacked by a suspected 12-foot white shark. She received bites to her arms and legs, lacerations and fractures throughout her body, and extreme blood loss. As a result, Stewart remained in an induced coma for a week and underwent an arm amputation.
Since then, Stewart has regularly shared updates on her recovery. Though she has remained hopeful throughout, she admitted that this setback was a difficult one.
“Feeling pretty devastated, had quite a few tears.” said Stewart. “Now, we’re not really sure where to go from here. It’s been three and a half months and my leg is still open. I guess the only good thing is we’re trying something different, so having a little break from the VAC machine, which means I can move a little more freely.”
“Anyway, we keep moving forward.”
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