A nine-year-old Bradenton girl is recovering well after nearly losing her hand to a shark last week.
Leah Lendel is out of the ICU, with a big yellow, foam pillow on her arm to reduce swelling and keep it elevated.
Tampa General Hospital's Dr. Alfred Hess says shark bites are curses and blessings.
"Shark's teeth are so sharp that the cut through the wrist is clean and not jagged, and it doesn't ruin all the tissue so that we have good tissue to work with and put back together, " said Dr. Hess.
Leah's medical team is cautiously optimistic she'll get all her coordinated hand function back. They'll have to see what her wrist motion will be.