A snake catcher bitten by a deadly reptile while on the job is showing good signs of recovery after being on death’s door....CONTINUE READING
Melbourne man Mark Pelley, who labels himself the Snake Hunter, was rushed to ICU after being struck by a tiger snake and stopped breathing a number of times as the extremely potent venom wreaked havoc on his body.
However, Mr Pelley has stabilised to the extent he has been moved out of ICU and has managed to stand for the first time since the bite on Sunday morning, according to his daughter Aishah who shared the update on a GoFundMe page.
Snake catcher Mark Pelley is out of ICU after he was struck by a poisonous reptile last Sunday. ‘He has been moved to another ward, and fingers crossed will continue to get better,’ Aishah wrote today on the page to raise money for her dad while he is out of action recovering from the bite
She said her father standing up ‘was a huge milestone and very reassuring to me’. ‘There is still a long road ahead but I know dad is determined,’ she wrote, accompanied with a smiley face emoji.
Mr Pelley, who is a single father of four daughters, has received two doses of antivenom but has been left battling muscle and nerve damage as well as heart irregularities.
He was struck by the tiger snake on a property in the northern Melbourne suburb of Diamond Creek after a piece of his equipment broke, according to Aishah.
She said her father began to ‘lose consciousness very fast in front of my eyes’. ‘The venom went straight into his circulation system from a deep bite and started to have neurological effects immediately,’ Ms Pelley said.
Mr Pelley stopped breathing several times and Aishah feared he was already dead while emergency services rushed to the property.
With her father laid up, Aishah will run the family snake catching business and is tending to over 100 animals that her dad usually cares for.
As well as helping with those expenses the GoFundMe page is also raising funds to continue construction of a new reptile facility after the old office was flooded in January.
‘My dad is my hero as a single dad and the sole provider for our family and elderly grandma,’ Aishah said.
Mr Pelley’s daughter Aishah said she feared for her dad’s life after the tiger snake bit him. Mr Pelley, who labels himself the Snake Hunter, also cares for around 100 animals.
‘If you knew my dad, he would never ask for any help, I am asking for your aid during this time. ‘Once dad gets out of hospital, it may be a long time before he is able to work properly again.’
By Saturday afternoon the page had raised over $34,000 of its $38,000 target. ‘Mark has helped us out on two occasions, removing a tiger snake from near our front steps, and searching for a snake in a bedroom of our home,’ donor Sharyn Lanham wrote.
‘Wishing Mark a speedy recovery, and strength to his family at this most difficult time.’ Tiger snakes are infamous for the toxicity of their venom and aggressive behavior when threatened.
They are responsible for the second-highest number of snake bites in Australia. With a venom that attacks the nervous system, muscular and blood clotting systems, tiger snake bites can prove deadly in just 30 minutes, causing paralysis, respiratory distress, and organ failure…CONTINUE READING>>
