Sydney family’s Christmas miracle as 2yo survives funnel web bite

A Sydney couple is grateful for their very own Christmas miracle after their two-year-old son survived a bite from a deadly funnel web spider that was hiding in their plastic tree.

When Sydney mum Emma Sheil found her two-year-old son Tommy in front of the Christmas tree holding a giant funnel web spider she thought it was a toy. Then he screamed.

The highly venomous spider, likely hidden in the plastic tree that had been brought into the Picton home from the garage a day earlier, had bitten her son’s finger, and the pain was instant – and intense.

In a split-second decision, Ms Sheil ran to hit the spider out of Tommy’s hands, a decision that ultimately saved her son’s life.

“Straight away his finger was red and then almost immediately his entire arm began to turn red,” she said.

“He was just in excruciating pain, I’ve never heard anything like it. I thought it was a toy because of how big it was, and it wasn’t until he started screaming that I knew something was wrong.”

Emma Sheil and son Tommy, 2, who was bitten by a funnel web spider. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Ms Sheil and her husband jumped in their car to rush their son to hospital, remaining in constant communication with emergency services, but it was soon clear that Tommy was in serious trouble.

“Within 30 seconds of getting into the car he was vomiting,” she said. “He then stopped crying and his mouth started to pool with saliva, which we later learned was Tommy having a seizure.

The funnel web spider Tommy found.

“He was completely unresponsive and I said over the phone to the paramedics that I didn’t think we could make it to the hospital.”

Within minutes an ambulance pulled up to the kerb where the couple had parked.

“We had the spider in a cup, and the paramedic told us immediately that it was a female funnel web spider,” Ms Sheil said. “If it had been a male, there’s no way he would have survived.”

Tommy was taken to the intensive care unit at the Sydney Children’s Hospital at Randwick, where he was intubated and placed on a ventilator, being kept alive by doses of adrenaline for almost two hours before the anti-venom arrived.

He has since made a full recovery and Ms Shiel is urging other parents to check their Christmas trees – both real and fake – saying she couldn’t imagine another family having to go through the same situation.

“You just never expect to find a spider in your lounge room, let alone to find your two-year-old holding it,” she said.

Emma with Tommy in hospital.

Clinical toxicologist Darren Roberts said most Australians could not tell the difference between a funnel web and other big black spiders, stressing the importance of seeking a prompt diagnosis.

“It’s important to note that not all funnel web spider bites cause envenomation, and within 15 minutes it should be clear if symptoms will develop,” he said.

“Local pain tends to be the first effect, but people can also experience their heart racing, goosebumps, sweating, vomiting, anxiety, headaches and drooling from the mouth.

“The venom stops nerves from turning off or relaxing.

“So the nerve is activated or ‘fires off’ and keeps working, causing the muscles and heart and blood vessels to be very active, leading to these effects.”

Mr Roberts said in the circumstances of a bite, the victim should apply a pressure bandage, limit their movement to stop the venom from moving around the body, and call Triple-0.

Health Minister Ryan Park has echoed the sentiments of health professionals, urging Sydneysiders to help their children understand the dangers of spiders.

“We can prevent spider bites by teaching our little ones to leave spiders alone, that if they see one, to calmly walk away and to tell an adult,” he said.

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Originally published as Sydney family’s Christmas miracle as 2yo survives funnel web bite