Family, doctors reflect on 9-year-old's recovery after Florida shark attack

At Tampa General, doctors worked quickly to repair the girl’s wrist and restore blood flow.

About a week after a shark bit through 9-year-old Leah Lendel’s wrist while she was snorkeling off Boca Grande, her parents sat beside her at a news conference at Tampa General Hospital. Lendel was wheeled into the room, her injured hand resting inside a cheese-shaped foam cushion to keep it elevated and reduce swelling.

She calmly recounted what happened in the water.

“I went up to breathe and then something hard bit me and then it tried to take me away,” she said. “I pick up my hand and it’s all in blood. Then I started screaming.”

Her father, Jay Lendel, heard yelling near the shore. At first, he thought a crab had grabbed his daughter. But as he got closer, he realized the severity of the injury.

“I pick up Leah and I take her closer to the street,” he said. “I was holding her hand in my hand, and I didn’t think there was any chance at all of saving it.”

https://www.tampabay.com/news/2025/06/20/family-doctors-reflect-9-year-olds-recovery-after-boca-grande-shark-attack/

She's a very lucky little girl.