Overview
- Leah Lendel was bitten while snorkeling off Boca Grande in June, with the shark reported as a roughly 9ft bull shark.
- Construction workers and first responders controlled severe bleeding and called 911 before an airlift to Tampa General Hospital.
- Surgeons from the Florida Orthopaedic Institute and pediatric teams at Muma Children’s Hospital performed the reattachment, with arterial grafts taken from her leg, according to her mother.
- Leah moved two fingers within 24 hours and has since regained some feeling and movement in all fingers through occupational therapy.
- After the family’s Inside Edition interview, a GoFundMe for medical costs was reported as approaching $60,000, as coverage also noted that shark attacks are statistically rare.