{"id":220729,"date":"2026-04-06T16:30:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220729\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T16:30:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T16:30:09","slug":"florida-girl-returns-to-beach-10-months-after-shark-bite-nearly-took-her-hand-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/220729\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida girl returns to beach 10 months after shark bite nearly took her hand"},"content":{"rendered":"

BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Nearly a year after surviving a shark attack <\/a>that doctors feared would cost her a hand, a young Florida girl has returned to the beach where her life changed forever.<\/p>\n

Leah Lendel<\/a> was snorkeling with her family in the waters off Boca Grande<\/a> about 10 months ago when a shark bit her hand, nearly severing it. The violent encounter led to a frantic rescue effort, with first responders and nearby construction workers rushing in to help before she was airlifted to undergo emergency surgery.<\/p>\n

Surgeons were able to successfully reattach her hand \u2014 an outcome her parents initially believed was unlikely.<\/p>\n

\u201cI already went through all the hard stuff already,\u201d Leah said. \u201cLike, there\u2019s nothing more hard for me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Friday, Leah and her family revisited the stretch of beach where the attack happened, a return her mother says is part of the healing process.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe come out here often for her request, to just sit and remember what happened,\u201d said Leah\u2019s mother, Nadia Lendel. \u201cBut also to remember that it\u2019s such a great outcome for her. We have her. She\u2019s alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The attack remains vivid in Leah\u2019s mind. Standing at the shoreline, she pointed to dark patches in the Gulf water, recalling where she believes the shark <\/a>emerged.<\/p>\n

See also: Stuck for years, now facing a $5M deadline: Inside West Palm\u2019s unfinished skyline project<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the trauma, Leah has shown little fear of the ocean. Instead, she continues to focus on her recovery, attending physical therapy to regain strength and dexterity in her hand and wrist.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t really play piano now and I can\u2019t pick up more than eight pounds,\u201d Leah said. \u201cBut me and my therapist are working for me to get my wrist strength back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her mother admits the return to the water still makes her nervous, especially as Leah talks about wanting to snorkel again someday.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not afraid,\u201d Nadia said. \u201cShe\u2019s fearless.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the moments following the attack, Nadia said the family could only pray as the reality of the situation set in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see something this bad, reality hits,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re like, this is what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah said she hopes her experience doesn\u2019t leave others fearful of Florida\u2019s beaches. Instead, she encourages awareness and caution.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really rare that sharks even attack a person,\u201d Leah said. \u201cI would recommend not swimming in murky water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah\u2019s parents originally feared there was a nearcertain chance she would lose her hand. Now, they say they are simply grateful she is continuing to heal \u2014 and that she still has the confidence to face the water where she nearly lost so much.<\/p>\n

For Leah and her family, Boca Grande has become less a place of fear and more a reminder of survival, resilience and a second chance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BOCA GRANDE, Fla. (CBS12) \u2014 Nearly a year after surviving a shark attack that doctors feared would cost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220730,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-220729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}