Eli, who was bitten by a deadly snake thrice in late September barely held onto his life, but managed to survive. According to Fox News, the two-year-old Australian boy was collecting eggs from his family's chicken pen when he was bitten by a coastal taipan.
Australian Museum writes that coastal taipan (Oxyuranus scutellatus) is a species of large, highly venomous snake of the family Elapidae. It is often regarded as the most dangerous snake in Australian territory and is mostly active in mid-morning periods. A slight move can trigger an attack from this snake which has 12-mm long venomous fangs.
Their venom is so toxic that their bite is nearly always fatal. It can affect the nervous system and can result to blod clot, which was what happened to Eli.
According to Yahoo News, the boy had to be revived after he was bitten. Following the attack, he suffered from brain damage. Eli's mother shared the news on her facebook page, saying, "Eli has suffered some brain damage as a result of his cardiac arrest and subsequent lack of oxygen to the brain. We won't know the extent until he starts to come too a bit more."
A Go Fund me page has been created for his treatment. According to the page, any excess funds raised are to be given to other organization which had given their assistance to Eli as he fights for his recovery.
Meanwhile, in an interview with ABC News, Richie Gilbert from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers 24/7 said Eli was saved because proper first aid was performed by her pregnant mother.
"The reason little Eli's still with us today is because Brittany, Eli's mother, applied the correct first aid straight away," he said. "She got the pressure bandage on and that bought Eli a lot of extra time; had she not done that it would be a very different story now."
Mark Crossman, executive manager, clinical standards and quality, with the Queensland Ambulance Service, in the same article, shared some tips in what people should do in case of a snake bite. The tips are as follows:
- Do not wash the bite.
- Apply a pressure immobilisation bandage over the bite.
- Apply a second bandage from the extremity of the limb and bandage up the whole length of the limb.
- Use a splint to reduce movement.