Vic toddler recovers after near-fatal snake bite
A three-year-old boy is on the fast track to recovery after being bitten by a tiger snake while playing in a public garden in Melbourne's southeast.
Daniel Super was visiting the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens with his family yesterday when he was bitten twice by the potentially deadly snake.
The snake attacked Daniel when he accidentally stepped on it.
A so-called warning bite was delivered just below Daniel's knee, before a follow up blow closer to his ankle.
His mother, Miranda, witnessed the encounter and feared the worst.
"Seeing your child that unwell, vomiting, lethargic and just wanting snuggles, it's so heartbreaking not to be able to take that pain away," she told 7News.
Little Daniel was taken to Dandenong Hospital, before being transferred to Monash Children's Hospital for specialist treatment.
With Daniel in considerable pain, the situation was critical.
His tender years left him more vulnerable to the venom than an adult snake bite victim.
"They're smaller, so the venom can travel around their bodies quicker," said nurse Zoe Churchill. "It's important we act fast when they have a snake bite."
Daniel may be left with a scar on his leg from the bites, but as far as mental scars go, he is in the clear.
Once bitten, twice shy is not the way for the Super family.
They say they have no hesitation returning to the public garden.
"He's not phased by the snake thing at all," said Miranda.
"He's going to have no long-term memory of this. He won't be deterred from going and playing in the park."
It is hoped that Daniel will be well enough to leave hospital tomorrow.
