US Edition'It Was Really, Really Bad': Family of Girl Bitten by Shark Shares Story, Thanks Doctors
- Nine-Year-Old Leah Lendel was bitten by a shark on June 11 while snorkeling near Boca Grande, Florida, nearly losing her hand.
- Leah’s injury occurred 10-15 feet from shore and quick help from a construction crew applying a tourniquet led to her airlift and surgery at Tampa General Hospital.
- Surgeons performed hours of reconstructive surgery involving bone, artery, tendon, and nerve repair, restoring blood flow to Leah’s hand which was hanging by skin and covered in blood.
- Leah recalled, "I pick up my hand and is all in blood," while her mother called the restored blood flow "some sort of miracle," and doctors called the case a "great outcome."
- Leah was released from ICU on June 18, continues recovery with planned procedures to restore feeling, and officials say such shark attacks are extremely rare but continue monitoring local waters.
18 Articles
18 Articles
9-year-old shark attack victim says animal came out of nowhere, tried to ‘take me away’
An overwhelmed 9-year-old shark attack survivor said the attack happened so quickly that she hardly realized she had been bitten until she saw her blood-soaked hand emerge from the water.
9-year-old girl recounts moment she was bitten by shark while snorkeling in Florida
Tampa General Hospital. Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images (BOCA GRANDE, Fla.) — A 9-year-old girl who was bitten on the hand by a shark in Florida is speaking out about the terrifying moment she was attacked. Leah Lendel was snorkeling near Boca Grande on June 11 when “something hard bit me and then tried to tug me away,” she said at a news conference Thursday alongside her parents and the doctors who treated her. “Then I …
'It was really, really bad': Family of girl bitten by shark shares story, thanks doctors
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)—The family of the 9-year-old girl who survived an apparent shark attack spoke out about their daughter's recovery progress at Tampa General Hospital. Leah Lendel and her family gave an update on her emotional journey alongside the medical team at TGH. Doctors spoke about the lifesaving measure they took to save Leah's hand after the shark bite. "Everybody that was taking care of her was doing a great job. From what I witne…
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