A respected snake catcher who almost died after being bitten by a tiger snake has revealed why the near-death experience didn’t deter him from doing what he loves.
Mark Pelley was bitten by the world’s fifth most venomous snake during a response at Diamond Creek in Melbourne’s north on March 10.
The venom from the bite on his hand entered directly into his circulatory system and caused a “hot, searing pain” to spread from his fingers to the rest of his body.
Mr Pelley told Daily Mail Australia that despite the excruciating pain, he finished capturing the snake before applying a pressure bandage to the wound.
He called triple zero before getting into his car and driving several minutes to his home, where he stumbled into the shade of a tree.
Here the pain intensified and Mr. Pelley began to lose consciousness.
“I could hear and see, and I could feel what was happening at first,” he told Daily Mail Australia.
“But then the voices started to fade away, and I remember I was looking up at the blue sky, and it was just turning black, and I felt nothing.
“Then somewhere deep inside I remembered I had children and woke up again – this happened several times.”
Melbourne reptile expert Mark Pelley (pictured in hospital) was bitten by the world’s fifth most venomous snake on a property at Diamond Creek in Melbourne’s north on March 10.
Mr Pelley was bitten on the hand and rushed to hospital.
In the ambulance, the snake catcher tried to focus on his daughter Aishah as he developed a severe headache and fell unconscious.
In the emergency room, Mr. Pelley began vomiting, his pupils dilated to 9 mm, and his face and neck became stiff as if he were paralyzed.
Despite his deteriorating condition, the father of four suddenly realized he was the only one catching snakes in his small town.
“I thought the last thing I could do was leave a message to the community, telling them to leave the snakes alone and be safe around snakes,” he said.
He recorded the message from his hospital bed and asked his daughter to share the video on Instagram just before he stopped breathing.
Mr Pelley was given two doses of antivenom as well as 20 bags of plasma and platelets after a small cut began to bleed and his organs failed.
The next morning, his kidneys began functioning normally and he was able to treat the high levels of creatine kinase in his body, which were caused by damage to the heart muscle and could lead to a heart attack.
After four difficult days in intensive care, Mr Pelley began to recover, with his daughter keeping friends and family informed through progress videos on Instagram.
The tiger snake is one of the deadliest snakes in the world due to its powerful venom.
Mr Pelley spent several days in intensive care after being bitten by a tiger snake while at work.
Mr Pelley’s daughter Aishah (pictured) raised more than $39,000 for her father
On Saturday, Mr. Pelley got up and started walking despite experiencing vision problems, numbness and loss of taste.
“Daddy’s blood is almost back to normal. His kidneys are functioning at 100% and muscle wasting has been significantly reduced,” Aishah wrote.
“Now he walks around the room and, like his father, he slowly picks up the pace and tries to figure out what he can do with Pilates and yoga.
“It will be a long recovery, but I don’t know anyone on earth who is more motivated and more resilient than Dad.”
Mr. Pelley had a few choice words for the online trolls who had targeted his family.
“I remember being in the hospital and my daughter was worried about me, but also about people saying nasty things. I told him ‘you’re never criticized by people who do more than you,'” he said.
“People who have all these nasty things to say to me – it’s really a reflection of their own problems – to laugh when someone gets knocked down.”
Mr Pelley (pictured) was given two doses of antivenom as well as 20 bags of plasma and platelets after a small cut started bleeding and his organs failed.
Mr. Pelley also shared a message with people in lieu of his terrifying close call.
“Please don’t let what’s happening to me be an excuse to think ill of snakes,” he said.
“Snakes only bite when they are afraid. If you leave snakes alone you can avoid what happened to me and if you are bitten seek medical attention.
Mr. Pelley says the near-death experience did not deter him from wanting to protect the community from snakes and vice versa.
He said he and his family had been overwhelmed by the support and that he aimed to “reconnect with the snakes” as early as next week.
“I can’t wait to get back to it, I completely miss it,” he said.
“I didn’t expect people to be so kind and good, what happened to me and the support they gave me really showed the kindness and support of the community.”
Mr Pelley was reunited with his daughters and pets on Sunday, with Aishah sharing the sweet moment his dogs ran out of the house to greet him (pictured).
On Sunday, Mr Pelley was reunited with his daughters and pets, with Aishah sharing the sweet moment when his dogs ran out of the house to greet him.
Aishah said seeing her father enter the house after being carried unconscious a week ago “meant everything” to her and her family.
“Dad still has pain, numbness, taste problems, vision problems and weakness, but he waddles around the house and has already done a number of migration jobs for clients even though he was told to rest. There is still a long road to recovery,” she wrote in a statement on Sunday.
“Thank you all for your continued support. My sisters, I and my father have a long road to recovery, but we appreciate the kind words and continued physical and financial help.
A GoFundMe The page Aishah started has raised nearly $40,000 to help care for up to 100 animals as well as build a new facility for the reptiles after the old office was flooded in January.