The process was not simply a return to the activities she had enjoyed before the attack.
It required adapting to the consequences of a severe injury.
The supplied account does not establish a precise date when she first stood or took her first assisted steps.
It also does not document a complete return to unrestricted mobility.
What is known is that she began standing and walking again with assistance.
That progress was significant.
Only weeks earlier, she had been pulled underwater by a great white shark.
Her right thigh had suffered devastating damage.
She had undergone eight operations during a prolonged period of medical treatment.
Now she was attempting to regain control of her movements.
The contrast was extraordinary.
During the attack, her immediate goal had been to make the shark release her.
During the rescue, the goal had been to reach shore alive.
During hospitalization, the priority had been treating her injuries.
In rehabilitation, the challenge became rebuilding everyday function.
Each stage required a different kind of effort.
The physical limitations caused by the attack did not disappear simply because she survived.
But her ability to begin standing and walking again represented meaningful progress.
The woman who had fought for her life beneath the Pacific was now fighting to reclaim her independence on land.
Chapter 9: What Made This Shark Encounter So Dangerous?
Several factors made Leeanne Ericson's encounter especially serious.
The first was the location of the bite.
The shark seized her right thigh, an area containing large muscles, nerves, and important blood vessels.
A deep bite in that region can cause extensive tissue loss and potentially life-threatening bleeding.
The second was the shark's continued grip.
The animal did not simply make brief contact and immediately move away.
According to Leeanne's account, it held her leg and pulled her underwater.
That created an additional danger beyond the injury itself.
She could not breathe while submerged.
And she could not swim freely while the shark maintained its grip.
The third factor was the difficulty of obtaining immediate assistance.
Dusty Phillips was nearby, but the attack pulled Leeanne beneath the surface.
The murky water made searching for her difficult.
Even after the shark released her, reaching shore required help.
The fourth factor was the severity of the medical aftermath.
Leeanne did not escape with minor wounds.
She lost a substantial amount of tissue from her thigh and required eight surgeries over nine weeks of intensive treatment.
Her injuries affected her ability to move and created a lengthy rehabilitation challenge.
The encounter also became notable because of Leeanne's reported defensive actions.
She repeatedly punched the shark and then targeted its eye.
The animal eventually released her.