A Sydney woman left fighting for her life by a shark attack has briefly regained consciousness more than a week later, in what her family has described as a hopeful first step on a long road to recovery.

A morning swim turns to crisis

Leah Stewart, a 34-year-old teacher from the Coogee area, was swimming close to shore and between the flags at Coogee Beach, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on the morning of Saturday, June 13, when she was bitten across her arms and legs by a shark believed to be a white shark, RNZ reported.

The injuries were severe, causing extreme blood loss. Stewart was taken to hospital in a critical condition and underwent surgery that included the amputation of an arm, along with other operations to treat life-threatening wounds.

A rescue at the water's edge

The first to reach her was Charlie Verco, an off-duty volunteer lifeguard who was paddleboarding nearby and saw the attack. "I saw the shark come out of the water and just the size of it shocked me," he told CBS News. He helped bring Stewart to shore, where members of the public applied tourniquets and first aid before paramedics arrived — a response medical staff later credited with helping save her life.

'I love you'

Stewart spent more than a week in an induced coma on life support as surgeons worked through a series of operations. On Tuesday, her family said doctors had briefly brought her out of sedation so she could speak with her loved ones, according to GB News.

Her first words — "I love you" — were for her mother and her partner, Fernando, who have kept watch at her bedside in intensive care. Her brother, Joshua, who has been sharing updates on her condition, described the moment as a positive sign while cautioning that she still faces a long recovery.

Beaches closed, questions renewed

In the immediate aftermath, beaches along Sydney's eastern suburbs were closed as a precaution while authorities assessed the area. The attack renewed a familiar public discussion in Australia about beach safety, from netting to drone patrols.

Serious shark attacks remain rare relative to the millions of people who enter Australian waters each year, and experts stress that the individual risk is very low. But encounters do happen, and when they do the consequences can be life-altering — as they have been for Stewart and her family, who now face the slow work of recovery with, as her brother put it, renewed hope.