Shark bite survivor's family, TGH doctors discuss 9-year-old's recovery: 'She's done a fantastic job'

Child attacked by shark talks about terrifying experience

Leah Lendel, 9, was at the beach when a shark nearly tore off one of her hands. She talked about the ordeal on Thursday.

TAMPA, Fla. - A 9-year-old girl recently bitten by a shark on Florida's Gulf Coast joined her family and doctors at Tampa General Hospital on Thursday to talk about her recovery.

The backstory:

Leah Lendel was snorkeling with her family at Boca Grande on June 11 when a shark bit her, leaving her hand "hanging by a little piece of skin," according to a witness.

Pictured: Leah Lendel.

A nearby construction crew rushed to pull her from the water and call 911.

The child was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, where she underwent surgery that lasted hours while doctors worked to save her hand. The procedure involved bone reconstruction, artery grafts from her leg, and tendon and nerve repair.

Late last week, Leah's mother posted on Instagram about her daughter's progress, saying she could move some of her fingers again.

What they're saying:

At a news conference Thursday, Leah talked about the moment she was bitten more than a week ago.

"I didn't see anything," Leah said. "I was just snorkeling and I went up to breathe, then something hard bit me and it tried to take me away. Then I pick up my hand and it's all in blood. Then, I started screaming with my mom. And then, my dad was with me. He picked me up, then we ran to the road."

Pictured: Leah Lendel.

Leah's parents then described the rush to help their daughter once they realized what was happening.

"I noticed it was her arm that was, like, almost falling off," Leah's father, Jay, said. "So instantly I figured out that it was a shark in the water."

Leah's mother, Nadia, also credited the construction workers who quickly responded to the screams.

"When they saw her hand, it was really, really hard for them," Nadia said. "To see them kind of, like, all grab their hearts. They were right on the phone and they were calling [911]."

Pictured: Leah Lendel and her parents.

As Leah was airlifted to Tampa General Hospital, doctors were waiting to work on saving her hand – something they had just hours to accomplish once the child arrived.

"Time is everything, so we know that there's this critical time, about that six-hour mark, where we start to lose muscle," Dr. Joshua Linnell said. "And so, that's the key is getting those patients into the operating room. With regard to pediatric patients, structures are smaller. Structures are smaller and so that makes repair of vessels, repair of tissues and a lot more difficult."

Another critical factor in saving Leah's hand, doctors said, was how "clean" the shark bite was.

"The shark's teeth are so sharp that the cut through the wrist is clean and not jagged, and it doesn't ruin all the tissue," Dr. Alfred Hess said.

X-ray of Leah Lendel's hand.

What's next:

While Leah's recovery is off to a strong start, doctors said Thursday there's still a long way to go when it comes to healing and rehab.

"Rehab with hand injuries is complex," Dr. Linnell said. "We have to balance the strength of tendon repairs with the scarring that's going to occur in the area."

Despite the long road ahead, Leah's family and doctors are optimistic about her ability to bounce back.

TGH news conference on shark bite recovery

Doctors at Tampa General Hospital joined the family of 9-year-old Leah Lendel on Thursday to talk about her recovery from a shark bite at a Florida beach last week.

"She's done a fantastic job, I can already tell you," Dr. Linnell said. "I just keep looking over at those fingers because we worked hard on that."

Leah says she'll be back in the water once she heals.

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The Source: This story was written with information from Tampa General Hospital and previous FOX 13 News reports.

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