Leah Lendel and her family were enjoying a typical day on the Florida Gulf Coast: walking around near a lighthouse, getting ice cream, then going to the beach to wade in the water, snorkeling, getting some pizza.
But as the 9-year-old was snorkeling with her siblings and her dad, she felt something pull, hard, on her arm. She started screaming, first in pain, then in horror.
"My hand was all in blood," she said as she recounted being attacked by a shark June 11. "I started screaming for my mom."
At a news conference June 19, Leah and her parents talked about what happened and the care she received on the scene in Boca Grande, Florida, and at Tampa General Hospital, where she was flown to receive emergency care. Doctors discussed how they saved the girl's hand with the help of bystanders, first responders and Leah herself.
Leah was swimming in the ocean off of Boca Grande, Florida, with other family members around noon local time on June 11 when she was bit, Boca Grande Fire Chief C.W. Blosser said in a social media video.
