King brown snake bite far from medical help 'terrifying' says survivor
Ngaanyatjarra Wangkatjungka woman Catherine Ridley was around a campfire with family late on Friday night in Yakanarra community, 2,400 kilometres north of Perth, when she felt something bite her toe.
"I didn't know what it was and all I knew is it was something. It didn't feel right and it was a bad bite," she said.
"I screamed and chucked the blanket and ran [and got a torch] and I yelled out to my son and his partner.
Her family killed the snake and identified it as a king brown, or mulga, a highly venomous snake common in the Kimberley region.
"My partner's son put me on a bed because I needed to lay down and stay calm. They got me all settled and secured until they could work out a plan," Ms Ridley said.
Yakanarra Community School principal Brendan Hodge said it was around midnight when he got a knock on the door, alerting him someone had been bitten.
"They already laid her down and already wrapped up the snake bite, I placed some pressure bandages up her leg and we spoke to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, who took it from there," he said.
"A baby king brown [is] by all reports more venomous than a mature king brown. This definitely was only a baby king brown.
"We certainly were quite concerned."
Common symptoms of king brown bites include pain and swelling, nausea and vomiting.
While the RFDS were contacted immediately they were unable to land at Yakanarra due to "safety concerns", citing the airstrip did not have adequate lighting for night operations.
Ms Ridley said she was driven more than 70 kilometres by her partner, and then an ambulance to Fitzroy Crossing airport where the RFDS was waiting to transport her to Broome Hospital.
"I was scared and feeling very anxious. When you have a snake bite you can't have those feelings of being anxious, you gotta be calm," she said.
"I was starting to get nervous, it was so late. There's all sorts of things that can happen, like a flat tyre. Anything can happen between leaving the community and meeting the ambulance.
"Then there's the [phone] reception. if there's no reception, how are you going to contact someone in the night? All that was running through my mind."
Ms Ridley has now been discharged from Broome Hospital in a stable condition.
While Ms Ridley said being bitten by the snake was her "worst nightmare" she was grateful to everyone who helped and was a warning to others in remote areas to remain vigilant.
"It's the distance, things can happen, and that's in the nature — there's snakes, spiders, and we have to be prepared for that sort of stuff," she said.
"I just want to send a message to families and friends in all those Aboriginal communities to be aware. It's warming up now and snakes are out and about."
While it was the first snakebite Mr Hodge had responded to during his three years in Yakanarra, he said snakes were commonly sighted in the community.
"In the school area we have seen quite a few snakes. Over the last three years luckily we have no snake bite incidences," he said.
"Everyone in the community is very snake aware. It just is what it is when you're living remote.
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