A girl who was nine years old when she was attacked by a shark in Florida and left with a bite on her hand is now speaking out about the terrifying experience she went through.
“something hard bit me and then tried to tug me away,” Leah Lendel said during a news conference on Thursday alongside her parents and the medical professionals who treated her. Leah Lendel was snorkeling near Boca Grande on June 11 when the incident occurred.
“Then I pick up my hand and it’s all in blood,” Leah said in response. “Then I started screaming with my mom.”
“There was so much blood in the water right next to me,” Nadia Lendel, Leah’s mother, said during the press conference of the incident. “In an instant, I knew it’s a shark attack.”
Nadia Lendel recalled, “I just started to scream to my husband,” and she continued to do so. While this was going on, Leah’s mother stated that her daughter’s “instincts kicked in” and she ran out of water.
“Then my dad was going to be with me,” Leah explained. “He picked me up and we ran to the road.”
The parents of Leah expressed their appreciation to the construction workers who were eating lunch on the beach, and they immediately ran to assist them in calling 911 and applying a tourniquet to Leah’s arm. According to Leah’s father, emergency medical services arrived within minutes.
The doctors at Tampa General Hospital lauded the decision of the first responders to fly the two hours in the helicopter to their hospital, where they stated that they had the expertise to assist Leah within the six-hour window in order to save the tendons, tissue, and muscle.
Less than an hour after Leah entered the hospital, the medical staff reported that they performed surgery on her hand.
“I was trying to hold myself together,” said Jay Lendel, Leah’s father, while he was recovering in the hospital. “I think I was crying more than she was.”
The General Hospital of Tampa: A shark bite, according to Dr. Alfred Hess, is fortunate in that it does not leave a jagged wound on the wrist but rather a clean cut that does not destroy all of the tissue.
Following the stabilization of Leah’s bone, the doctors stated that they worked on improving the flow of blood. Several blood vessels were removed from Leah’s leg in order to assist in restoring blood flow to her hand, as stated by the medical professionals.
According to her doctors, Leah will soon participate in physical therapy, and at some point in the future, the pins that are on her hand will be removed.
“I’m just thankful for everybody,” Jay Lendel said. “Please accept my gratitude.” “I’m just very thankful she’s alive.”
On the other hand, another shark bite was reported on Tuesday on Hilton Head Island, which is location in South Carolina.
As reported by the Hilton Head Island Fire Rescue, the victim sustained a leg injury that was not considered to be life-threatening and was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Savannah, Georgia and treated there.
According to the International Shark Attack File maintained by the Florida Museum of Natural History, there were a total of 28 unprovoked shark bites that occurred in the United States in the previous year. It was Florida that had the most, with 14, while South Carolina only had two.
Isaf said that there was only one shark attack in the United States that resulted in a fatality, and that attack took place in Hawaii.
