{"id":864368,"date":"2025-07-23T00:11:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:11:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/girl-9-recalls-moment-she-picked-up-hand-started-screaming-in-horror-shark-attack-as-dad-says-miracle-happened\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T00:11:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T05:11:57","slug":"girl-9-recalls-moment-she-picked-up-hand-started-screaming-in-horror-shark-attack-as-dad-says-miracle-happened","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/23\/girl-9-recalls-moment-she-picked-up-hand-started-screaming-in-horror-shark-attack-as-dad-says-miracle-happened\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl, 9, recalls moment she \u2018picked up hand\u2019 & \u2018started screaming\u2019 in horror shark attack as dad says \u2018miracle\u2019 happened"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Girl\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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THE nine-year-old girl has recalled the moment her hand was almost torn off in a savage shark attack while snorkeling with her mom.<\/p>\n

Leah Lendel underwent a six-hour surgery to repair her hand that was left \u201changing by skin\u201d after she was mauled by an eight-foot shark off Boca Grande beach in Florida on June 11.<\/p>\n

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\"Girl<\/a>\n<\/p>

Leah Lendel spoke out about the horror shark attack on June 11<\/span>Credit: ABC NEWS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"A<\/a>\n<\/p>

She had been snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach with her mom<\/span>Credit: ABC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"A<\/a>\n<\/p>

A 9-year-old girl in Florida is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off while she was snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach last week.<\/span>Credit: ABC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Girl<\/a>\n<\/p>

Leah\u2019s mom said her daughter\u2019s \u2018instincts kicked in\u2019 and she ran out of the bloody water<\/span>Credit: ABC NEWS<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cSomething hard bit me and then tried to tug me away,\u201d she said at a news conference at Tampa General Hospital. <\/p>\n

While flanked by her parents and doctors, Leah recalled how she and her mom started screaming when they realized what happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t see anything. I was just snorkeling,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI went up to breathe. And then, something hard bit me and tried to take me away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen I pick up my hand and is all in blood. I start screaming with my mom\u201d. <\/p>\n

Nadia, Leah\u2019s mom, told reporters how she thought her daughter had lost a limb, saying \u201cIt was really, really bad\u201d and that she didn\u2019t think her daughter \u201cwas going to have a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s some sort of miracle that now she has a hand,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was so much blood in the water right next to me, in an instant I knew it\u2019s a shark attack,\u201d Nadia said, adding that her daughter\u2019s \u201cinstincts kicked in\u201d. <\/p>\n

Leah ran out of the water where she was picked up by her dad and taken to the road where people rushed to help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe [saw] that little girl come out from the water with no hand, it was\u2026 like everybody was in shock,\u201d eyewitness Alfonso Tello who was on a lunch break at the beach told NBC-affiliate\u00a0<\/span><\/span>WBBH<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Shark attack reported at popular US beach as victim rushed to hospital just weeks after 1,600lb beast spotted in state<\/span><\/p>\n

One horrified beach goer who ran to Leah\u00a0<\/span>told CBS-affiliate\u00a0<\/span><\/span>WINK<\/a> that her hand \u201cwas hanging but this piece\u2026they whole thing was completely hanging out. You can see bones all completely red\u201d.<\/p>\n

A frantic 911 call revealed how those nearby wrapped towels around Leah\u2019s hand that was \u201ccompletely destroyed\u201d and put her arm in a tourniquet to stem the bleeding.<\/p>\n

Within four minutes, responders from the Boca Grande Fire Department were on scene and she was flown two hours to Tampa General.<\/p>\n

MIRACLE WORKERS<\/h2>\n

Leah\u2019s doctors told reporters how there was a six-hour window for them to save her hand from the moment she was mauled by the shark.<\/p>\n

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Statement from Leah Lendel\u2019s family following the shark attack<\/h3>\n
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Nine-year-old Leah experienced a terrifying and life-altering event. Her family has issued the following statement following the suspected bull shark attack in Boca Grande, Florida:<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe want to say Thank You to everyone that is praying for our sweet Leah. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thankful for the quick response of everyone that was on scene, the construction workers, residents that ran out to help and the first responders and to all the Doctors\/Nurses that are doing everything to help our girl. <\/p>\n

\u201cYesterday Leah had an extensive surgery on her hand (wrist & fingers). <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Doctors, were able to get blood flow to her hand and fingers. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe is showing some movement in two fingers but can\u2019t feel the rest. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors will be doing another procedure tomorrow to see if there is anything else that needs to be done. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Leah has all her fingers attached is already a testimony. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrom witnessing her wrist hanging on by just the skin, to have blood flow in all of her hand and fingers is truly a miracle. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlease keep praying for our family, our God is a miracle worker.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Less than an hour after she arrived at the hospital, she was in surgery where they had to stabilize the bone and take blood vessels from her leg to help restore blood flow to her hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was trying to hold myself together, Leah\u2019s dad Jay said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think I was crying more than she was.\u201d <\/p>\n

An x-ray of her hand shows how the skin, muscles, and bones in her hand were severed almost all the way across the middle.<\/p>\n

Doctors called the fact it was a shark bite a \u201ccurse and a blessing\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\"X-ray<\/a>\n<\/p>

A 9-year-old girl in Florida is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off while she was snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach last week., Leah Lendel\u2019s hand following the shark attack<\/span>Credit: Tampa General Hospital<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Emergency<\/a>\n<\/p>

Emergency services attended the 911 call before Leah was flown to Tampa General<\/span>Credit: Lee County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"A<\/a>\n<\/p>

Leah underwent an initial six-hour surgery in which blood vessels from her leg were put into her hand to help restore blood flow<\/span>Credit: Instagram\/miss.lendel<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Their sharp teeth mean the cut was clean and not jagged, meaning there was \u201cgood tissue to work with and put back together in a timely fashion,\u201d Dr Alfred Hess said.<\/p>\n

Leah will still need physical therapy and to have the pins in her hand removed but her parents say they are \u201cjust thankful for everybody\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think it was possible because I was holding her hand in my hand and I didn\u2019t think there was any chance at all of saving it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so thankful to the surgeons for making such a miracle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just very thankful she\u2019s alive,\u201d Jay added.<\/p>\n

Leah said could not wait to start \u201cplaying with all my siblings\u201d once her wounds healed.<\/p>\n

Her family launched a GoFundMe page<\/a> to help with her recovery which has received over $47,700 at the time of writing.<\/p>\n

This week, another shark attack was reported at a popular US beach and a 12-year-old girl was mauled by a 12ft alligator while playing in shallow water with her friends.<\/p>\n

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\"The<\/a>\n<\/p>

The nine-year-old emerged from the water with what looked like a bloody stump<\/span>Credit: GoFundMe<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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\"Two<\/a>\n<\/p>

A 9-year-old girl in Florida is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off while she was snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach last week.<\/span>Credit: ABC News<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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THE nine-year-old girl has recalled the moment her hand was almost torn off in a savage shark attack while snorkeling with her mom. Leah Lendel underwent a six-hour surgery to repair her hand that was left \u201changing by skin\u201d after she was mauled by an eight-foot shark off Boca Grande beach in Florida on June<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":864369,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[558,1313],"tags":[7766,5627],"class_list":{"0":"post-864368","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-moment","8":"category-recalls","9":"tag-moment","10":"tag-recalls"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=864368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/864368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/864369"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=864368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=864368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=864368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}