Family of critically injured shark attack victim Leah Stewart faces 'battle for survival'

The family of the woman critically injured in Saturday’s horrific shark attack at Coogee Beach are still coming to terms with the catastrophic scope of her injuries and the heartbreaking impact on her toddler, as they face a looming battle for her survival.

Leah Stewart, a 35-year-old primary school teacher, mother and dedicated ocean swimmer, remains on life support in the intensive care unit at St Vincent’s hospital after being mauled by a suspected 3.5-metre great white shark.

“It’s such a tragic situation,” her older brother Joshua Stewart told the Guardian.

“Leah is so full of life, she’s so energetic, she loves the ocean, she was a keen swimmer, she was swimming in the flags, really close to the shore when it happened on a crystal clear Saturday morning. She’d done all the right things.”

Leah and Joshua’s mother, a registered nurse, is keeping a bedside vigil at St Vincent’s while the rest of the family are trying to maintain a semblance of normal life for Leah’s 18-month-old daughter, who wants to know where mummy is.

“We’re lucky the family’s all been able to come together and she’s getting a lot of love…we’re just trying to make it all work,” Joshua said.

He confirmed Leah had undergone an arm amputation and remained in a critical condition, with the family bracing for further possible life-altering news regarding injuries to her legs.

While the medical team had largely managed to get on top of his sister’s extreme blood loss, the full extent of the long-term damage remained unknown.

“At the moment, we’re not a hundred percent sure… we’re still waiting on further news from the hospital,” he said. “There are multiple, quite serious injuries.”

The family launched a GoFundMe campaign on Monday to prepare for Leah’s predicted specialised medical expenses over an extended period.

“Sadly, it will involve prosthetics as well,” Joshua said.

“This has been negatively life-changing for Leah. It is just such a tragic and horrific circumstance.”

The family expressed profound gratitude to the community and the first responders, including 24-year-old lifesaver Charlie Verco, who paddled directly into the bloodied water to pull the unconscious teacher on to his board.

“We’ve got so much gratitude for all of those people that supported her, from that first rescue on the beach through to the helicopter team that took her over to the hospital, and the doctors, nurses, and support staff.”

The Stewart family has declined to comment on the fierce political debate that has emerged over beach safety in NSW over the past 48 hours.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott entered the fray on Monday, posting a video to social media demanding a cull of the predators.

“It’s so wrong that we don’t cull sharks after attacks,” Abbott said. “It’s so wrong we don’t put people before sharks.”

Emeritus Prof Rob Harcourt, who leads the marine predator research group at Macquarie University, said a cull of sharks would make no difference to the risk of shark attacks at beaches.

“Tony Abbott doesn’t understand risk, he does not understand climate change, and he doesn’t understand the science when he calls for a cull,” Harcourt told Guardian Australia.

The New South Wales agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, initially refused to rule out a cull on Sunday but the premier, Chris Minns, shut down the proposal on Monday afternoon, on the grounds that great whites are a protected species.

“We’re not going to be contemplating a cull. I’m not convinced it would work,” he said.

The state government has authorised a temporary Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) exemption to allow continuous, low-orbiting AI drone surveillance directly over Coogee beach for the remainder of the week to monitor any further shark movement.