Girl, 9, Survives FL Shark Attack, Nearly Loses Hand To Bite

BOCA GRANDE, FL — A 9-year-old girl who survived a Wednesday afternoon shark bite in Southwest Florida nearly lost her hand in the attack, according to multiple reports.

The girl, Leah, was airlifted to a hospital after the attack, which happened in Boca Grande, on Gasparilla Island, near the 2200 block of Shore Lane, WFLA said.

"All I know is it was a young child that was apparently swimming on the Gulf side of the beach," Gavin Naylor, director of International Shark Attack File at the University of Florida in Gainesville, told the News-Press right after the attack. "They were playing in the water, and I think she has severe injuries to her hand. I'm not sure if the hand is still savable."

The child’s mother, Nadia, was just four feet away from her daughter, who was snorkeling, said she started screaming while in the water, reports said. Nadia said that’s when she saw the girl’s right hand was mostly torn off at the wrist and covered in blood.

Leah was able to walk to shore, where nearby construction workers rushed to help her, Gulf Coast News reported. Shirts were used to wrap up her injuries.

She was flown by helicopter to a Tampa hospital, where surgeons were able to ultimately reattach her hand, reports said.

“They had to get arteries from her leg to the hand. Got the blood flow back to her hand. Install pins in bones. Still has open tissues. They will be monitoring her here for a week. But thank God she can move her fingers,” her mom said.

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