9-Year-Old Girl Survives Shark Attack in Florida, Retains Use of Severely Injured Hand After Surgery

Leah Lendel, a 9-year-old girl who was the victim of a shark attack while snorkeling in Florida, bravely recounted her experience during a recent press conference. According to a report by NBC Miami, Lendel was in the waters near Boca Grande last Wednesday, June 11, when the incident occurred, resulting in her hand being partially severed. "I didn't see anything, I was just snorkeling and went up to breathe, and then something hard bit me and then it tried to take me away," Leah told reporters. "I pick up my hand and it's all on blood and then I started screaming."

Leah's mother Nadia Lendel, feared the worst during those moments, as Leah's mother said in a statement obtained by NBC Miami, "From what I witnessed, I didn't think she's going to have a hand, it was really, really bad." However, after a six-hour surgery at Tampa General Hospital, Leah remarkably still has her hand and can move all her fingers.

First responders played a crucial role, as Leah was airflifted to the hospital, where doctors were able to operate on her hand less than an hour after her arrival. As detailed by ABC News, the prompt and adept treatment included stabilizing the bone and improving blood flow, with some blood vessels transplanted from Leah's leg to her hand. Leah is now expected to enter physical therapy and eventually have pins removed from her hand.

While Leah's father Jay Lendel expressed his profound gratitude for the life-saving efforts, stating to ABC News, "I'm just thankful for everybody. I'm just very thankful she's alive," the family's relief is felt against a backdrop of ongoing shark-related incidents. In a separate event reported by WJCL, another individual was bitten on Tuesday, off Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, adding to the list of this year's encounters with these marine animals.

Shark bites remain relatively rare, with the Florida Museum of Natural History’s International Shark Attack File reporting 28 unprovoked shark bites in the U.S. last year, fourteen of which occurred in Florida, and two in South Carolina.