9-year-old Florida girl whose hand was nearly bitten off by a shark recalls the attack: 'I start screaming'

A 9-year-old girl in Florida is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off while she was snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach last week

A 9-year-old girl in Florida is recovering from surgery after a shark nearly bit her hand off while she was snorkeling off a Boca Grande beach last week.

Leah Lendel spoke about that terrifying moment Thursday during a press conference at the Tampa General Hospital, where she received treatment.

"I didn't see anything. I was just snorkeling," Leah said. "I went up to breathe. And then, something hard bit me and tried to take me away."

"Then I pick up my hand and is all in blood," Leah recalled. "I start screaming with my mom."

Leah's mother, Nadia Lendel, said that after seeing the injury, she didn’t think her daughter "was going to have a hand.”