Perth,
Western Australia
September 2, 2006
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Son saves dad after deadly snake-bite |
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First-aid learnt at the Joey scouts helped 15-year-old Jeremy Miller save his dad's life when a venomous Brown snake struck in their backyard.
His family feared for his survival as doctors battled to fight the effects of the poison. Andrew Miller, a soldier for 18 years, was pumped with antivenom and spent three days under observation in Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital after being bitten three times by the snake at his home in Reef Close, Swanbourne. "Hospital staff said it was the best compression bandage they had seen; they thought it had been done professionally," said Andrew (36). "Jeremy did a good job. It was something he learnt years ago when he was in the Joey scouts. I am glad he did." Andrew said doctors left the bandage on his right arm for three hours while they carried out blood tests to check for venom. "Once they took the bandage off the venom started to spread," he said. "I had severe pain in my arm and an excruciating headache and I started vomiting. "It felt as if the whole front and back of my head was being squeezed and crushed. "But then they gave me morphine and I did not really know what was going on." Andrew's wife Kelly said she called his parents to his bedside because doctors feared he might suffer kidney failure. "We did not know what was going to happen," she said. Andrew, a recruiting officer for the 16 Battalion based at Karrakatta, said being injected with the thick, syrup-like antivenom was slow and painful. Six hours after the first dose doctors decided to give him a second one. He said he had been warned his body might react up to 15 days after being treated with the antivenom and if he suffered cramps or cold or flu symptoms, he might need another course. Kelly said she and Jeremy were taking photos to send to her sister in Queensland when the incident occurred. "The snake slithered out from the rockery and I almost trod on it," she said. Kelly called Andrew and he trapped the 80cm long creature with a broom. "I am in the army and have dealt with snakes in the jungle in Queensland," he said. "I pinned it with the broom and nipped it behind the head. "It felt like a bee sting, but I did not think it had really got me." Andrew flung the snake against the rockery and it died. "I looked at my finger and realised it had bitten me three times, so I said: 'Jeremy, get the crepe bandage'." Kelly said: "He's a soldier, he never complains and he tried to shrug it off at first, but I said I was calling an ambulance." Meanwhile Jeremy was fitting the bandage to his dad's arm. "I was calm, we were both laughing about it," said Jeremy. "I went to the hospital with him and at first they said there was venom; then, after some tests, they said there was no venom, then there was." Andrew and Kelly and their four children have lived in the house next to Melon Hill bushland for almost two years. "We want to warn everyone that the snakes are out early this year," said Andrew. "There are a lot of families with young children and they need to be aware."
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