Phil Brook, from Samui Snake and Wildlife Rescue, has been bitten by a Cobra and is in hospital!
Imagine waking up and there is a snake slithering across your kitchen floor or you go to move the garden chair and a cobra rears up at you! What to do, you think in a mild or even crazy panic? Most people have Phil the Snake man on speed dial.
We have many snakes on Koh Samui and are fortunate that we have an expert who gives his time to rescue them and releases them back into their natural habitat.
Whilst on a snake rescue on Saturday 20 June, Phil got bitten by a Cobra! He was rushed to the hospital and eventually given some anti-venom. Luckily they knew it was a Cobra as each anti-venom is specific to the snake breed. Phil is currently in intensive care however we are optimistic that he will recover well although it may take a few weeks before he is back out there saving us from slithery creatures.
The island owes Phil so much gratitude for the amazing job he does for zero pay. So we want to recognise the work he does and ensure that his recovery is as comfortable and stress-free as it can be.
This is where you come in.... We want to raise 50,000 baht to help him and his family whilst he recovers. It's in times like these that those he has helped without question can now give back the kindness he has shown.
Phil has now returned home. The wound is still be dressed but now just twice a week. Giving time between disruptions for some granular healing to take place before a skin graft in August.
Phil is very grateful for every single donation as they are currently being used to cover medical expenses.
Update. Phil was let out of the hospital. His temp and vital signs are all ok. However, his hand is still ranging between painful and excruciating. The necrosis is causing some concern so that’s being kept a careful eye on as it is likely to need further potentially invasive treatment. So he’s by no means out of the woods yet. So treatment bills are still ongoing as you might imagine.
Update. Phil was let out of the hospital. His temp and vital signs are all ok. However, his hand is still ranging between painful and excruciating. The necrosis is causing some concern so that’s being kept a careful eye on as it is likely to need further potentially invasive treatment. So he’s by no means out of the woods yet. So treatment bills are still ongoing as you might imagine.
Update. Phil was let out of the hospital. His temp and vital signs are all ok. However, his hand is still ranging between painful and excruciating. The necrosis is causing some concern so that’s being kept a careful eye on as it is likely to need further potentially invasive treatment. So he’s by no means out of the woods yet. So treatment bills are still ongoing as you might imagine.
So the latest update. I visited Phil this evening and he is in good spirits and quite frankly lucky to be alive. That's no exaggeration. On the evening of the incident, Samui Rescue had called on Phil to assist them as the snake was in a tricky place. Thank the Buddha they were there as they were able to whisk Phil off to hospital as soon as he realised he' had been bitten (which wasn't until he had caught and bagged the cobra!). The sudden realisation that in fact what he thought was a bang on the hand was actually a bite and the speed at which he felt dreadful and actually lost consciousness was by all accounts, scarily rapid. You'd think once at the hospital they would bung in the anti-venom right away. It doesn't happen like that. They wait until you can't open your eyes and find it hard to breathe. Then they give it to you! So you're actually pretty close to the wire. Coupled with that was the need to do endotracheal intubation, whilst he was still conscious! This is due to ti the venom causing respiratory distress.
Phil has been rescuing snakes, other slithery critters and wildlife for 15 years and this is the first snake bite. We on Samui will never take for granted the valuable work he does. He is actually often risking his life for us so we can rest easy at night.
The arm swelling and necrosis (around the puncture wound) is likely to take several weeks to subside and it's early days yet to determine how the hand will recover so please continue your prayers and thoughts for Phil.
He is blown away by your support and it means that any additional costs not covered under insurance whilst in the hospital won't be stressing him out.