Former AFL player claims Leah Stewart added too much to her story — a detail that led him to say, She’s lying
The victim of a shocking shark attack at one of Sydney’s most popular beaches has reunited with the lifeguards who kept her alive.
The 34-year-old mother, Leah Stewart, was swimming between the flags at Coogee Beach when she was attacked by a shark on the morning of June 13.
Life savers and locals sprung into action to pull Stewart from the water and provide crucial first aid before the arrival of emergency services.
Those efforts helped Stewart make it to hospital where emergency surgery saved her life at the cost of one of her arms being amputated.
More than a month after the shocking incident, Stewart has began speaking about the experience and miraculous survival.
She took to social media on Wednesday to share an image of her reuniting with two of the lifeguards who helped save her life.
“Got to meet these absolute legends today,” she said in the post.
“Last time we met they were performing CPR and breathing for me, this time we had a big hug and got to hang out at Maroubra Surf Life Saving club.
“Thanks for being literal life savers.”
Brendan Fevola accuses Leah Stewart of ‘lying’
The reunion came just days after Stewart shared her harrowing account of the attack in an interview with 60 Minutes, explaining she had the foresight to choose which arm she would sacrifice as she punched the shark in order to get away.
But that decision came under the scrutiny of former AFL player Brendan Fevola, who accused Stewart of embellishing her survival story.
“I was on the couch with my wife going, ‘She’s lying. Too much time to think. You’re not thinking all that are you?’” Fevola told listeners of Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev and Nick breakfast radio show.
“Come on, ‘right or left?’
“You punched a shark in the face and survived, but you’re not thinking all that … That’s a lot of mayo.”
Fevola’s co-host, Kate Langbroek, came to the defence of Stewart saying people act differently under pressure and there’s no way to know exactly what someone was thinking in such a scenario.
“The only other person I know who’s punched a shark is Mick Fanning. He said at the time he didn’t even have a chance to think about what he was doing, it was like a reflex,” Langbroek said.
Stewart defends interview demeanour
Stewart has since revealed the toll of speaking out about the attack, saying she appears calm in some interviews because she still feels “disconnected from it, almost like it happened in a dream”.
“I think that’s my mind protecting me while I begin processing it,” she said on social media.
“I’m very early in that process, but wanted to give a snapshot of where I’m at.
“Truthfully I’m a bit scared to move past this current state of mind.”
SOURCE: 7 NEWS
https://7news.com.au/news/shark-attack-victim-leah-stewart-reunites-with-coogee-lifeguards-as-brendan-fevola-questions-story-c-22816829
