Quick action saved snake victim
8 March 2010, 07:12
By Kamini Padayachee
The family of a Serbian woman who was bitten three times by a green mamba say they are grateful to doctors and Umdloti residents who helped save her life.
Marija Djuric, 68, was on holiday with her husband. Petar, last week when she was bitten while walking along the Umdloti Link Road.
Yesterday, Djuric's son, Nemanja, said his mother had been walking to the beach from a holiday flat when she came across the snake.
"My parents had planned to go the beach and for the first time during the holiday, they decided to go there separately. So my father went first and then my mother left to join him," he said
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He said while she was walking, a man, who had seen the snake being hit by a vehicle and was also walking along the road, started waving his hands at her, trying to warn her about the snake.The family of a Serbian woman who was bitten three times by a green mamba say they are grateful to doctors and Umdloti residents who helped save her life.
Marija Djuric, 68, was on holiday with her husband. Petar, last week when she was bitten while walking along the Umdloti Link Road.
Yesterday, Djuric's son, Nemanja, said his mother had been walking to the beach from a holiday flat when she came across the snake.
"My parents had planned to go the beach and for the first time during the holiday, they decided to go there separately. So my father went first and then my mother left to join him," he said
"My mother saw this man, who was going hysterical, waving his hands and shouting at her. But she does not understand English very well and he was across the road from her, so she could not hear or understand what he was saying," said Nemanja Djuric.
"So she was looking at him and not where she was walking, and the snake bit her on her right lower leg."
The man is believed to be employed at the nearby Bel Punto restaurant.
He said that after she was bitten, his mother tried to ask the people helping her to find her husband and to get help from the nearby Surf and Kites shop, which is owned by her family.
"She was in a panic and the only thing she could say was 'surf shop' - which my cousin, Sinisha owns - 'beach' and 'big man', meaning my father because he is quite big built.
"Another local, Norman Tulloch, 70, also assisted Djuric and went looking for Petar and people from the surf shop and tried to stop vehicles from using the road.
Yesterday, Djuric said she was feeling much better and would not hesitate to return to the area.
Nemanja also stressed that doctors and staff at Umhlanga Hospital had been fantastic, especially Dr A Geard, who had been at the scene with paramedics and stabilised his mother.
"She was only in the hospital for two days and it's nothing short of a miracle that she is with us. It is because everything was done in time and efficiently. I would also like to thank colleagues, family and friends for their support and assistance and I will never forget it," he said.
Djuric is expected to travel to Joburg today, where she will stay with her son and will have further treatment.
kamini.padayachee@inl.co.za
- This article was originally published on page 3 of The Mercury on March 08, 2010
Pretoria
