A mother left fighting for life after being attacked by a shark has been brought out of her coma as her first words to her family are revealed.

Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by a great white shark while swimming at Coogee Beach, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on June 13.

She was rushed to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition and underwent an arm amputation, among other surgeries.

Her family have been providing updates on her recovery as they remained by her bedside, with her brother sharing an incredible message on Wednesday. 

'After a week of life-support and repeat surgeries, doctors were able to extubate Leah and reduce her level of sedation to bring her out of the induced coma for a short period of time,' he said.

'This allowed Leah to share her first words, "I love you", with her mum and partner Fernando who have been by her side in ICU since the incident.

'Her first thoughts were with her daughter August and wanted to check she was okay.

'This is a lot faster than anyone expected, and for us this feels like a miracle and is everything so many of us have hoped and prayed for over the past week.'

Ms Stewart still faces a long recovery ahead, with the mother to remain in the intensive care unit.

'She has undergone five days of surgery over the past week, and is scheduled for further surgeries today and more through the coming weeks,' her brother said.

'Leah has a long road ahead and still remains in critical care, but this is such a positive first step and gives us hope for Leah's long term recovery.

'Again thank you so much for everyone who continues to support Leah, through your care, prayer, love and generosity.'

A fundraiser to help Ms Stewart with her rehabilitation, prosthetics and medical bills had raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, with the figure sitting at $488,000.

An off-duty lifeguard, who was paddleboarding at Coogee, rushed over to help Ms Stewart on the day she was attacked by the shark.

Charlie Verco pulled her onto his paddleboard where she passed out as he made his way back to shore.

She was given multiple blood transfusions on the beach before being airlifted to St Vincent's.

The primary school teacher, who works at Hurstville Adventist School, was then put on life support.

Coogee Beach was not being monitored by shark surveillance drones when the attack unfolded because the area lies beneath a flight path. 

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