‘My 3yo was bitten by a deadly brown snake - my MIL’s actions saved his life’

“Keep a look out for your kids and have a bandage somewhere you can grab it - it can happen so quickly,” Queensland mum Brogan says.

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

October 6, 2023 - 7:17AM

Family Life

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Brogan took her children to their grandmother’s place in Emerald, located in Queensland’s central west, on September 20.

It was supposed to be a perfect afternoon picking fruit, riding a bike and spending time with the in-laws.

Instead, the Queensland mum-of-four is issuing a stark warning to other parents after her toddler was rushed to intensive care after being bitten by the world’s second deadliest reptile - the eastern brown snake.

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The Queensland toddler was bitten by one of the world's deadliest snakes. Source: 7News

Toddler bitten on leg by eastern brown snake

When Brogan and her children were outside playing in the grass, she heard her five-year-old daughter give a blood-curdling scream.

“It was the loudest I’d ever heard her scream,” mum Brogan told 7News. “She screamed: ‘Snake.’”

But Brogan couldn’t see the reptile anywhere. “It blended in so well,” she said.

Three-year-old son, Valik, was standing near his sister when she screamed. In an instant, Brogan’s mother-in-law, Connie, grabbed the kids and pulled them away, with Brogan holding her six-month-old baby in her arms.

But it was too late.

“I turned and grabbed him and ran,” she said. “As I grabbed (Valik), I said, ‘Is he bit? Is he bit?’”

They took a look at the toddler’s leg and discovered a nasty bite on his lower calf. Brogan called for her 5yo to get her phone.

“I told him to stay still and picked him up and ran him into the house to call triple-0,” she said.

While they waited for an ambulance to arrive, Brogan and the family wrapped Valik’s leg with a compression bandage and immobilised it to prevent further harm.

When paramedics arrived, Valik wasn’t showing any serious reaction to the bite, leading medical staff to believe it may have been a dry bite, where venom is not injected.

The 3yo has since been released from hospital. Source: 7News, iStock

“Keep a look out for your kids … it can happen so quickly”

It was when he arrived at the Emerald Hospital that his symptoms started to show. Blood tests confirmed he was bitten with venom, and watched as his health started to deteriorate, going pale and vomiting.

Medical staff administered an antivenom to the boy’s body before being flown to Rockhampton Hospital. There, he spent the night in intensive care as his body recovered from the nasty snake bite.

As he stayed in Rockhampton Hospital with his dad, Brogan and her three other children were at home waiting for an update.

She had never spent a single night away from her son.

“I didn’t sleep the whole night, I was in contact with my husband constantly,” she said.

She recalled how well her toddler behaved after his snake bite and praised her MIL, Connie, for her quick thinking and life-saving strategies.

“He was such a good boy ... he listened and didn’t move the whole time until they took him to the hospital,” she said. “I don’t think he would have survived if Connie didn’t put the compression bandage on.”

Valik has since been released from hospital, but he continues to feel soreness in his leg “every now and then.”

“He’s feeling more cautious outside, but he’s back to his three-year-old self,” Brogan said.

She has also issued a warning to others who are spending time outside.

“Keep a look out for your kids and have a bandage somewhere you can grab it,” she said. “It can happen so quickly.”

To treat a bite from an eastern brown snake, Healthdirect recommends applying a pressure immobilising bandage to the affected area, which should be placed firmly and tightly on the bite.