Woman details horror moment she was bitten by deadly brown snake
A young woman has recalled the terrifying moment she was bitten by a deadly snake while sleeping in rural Queensland.
Kasey Leadbetter, 21, was sleeping in her bed where she had been working at a rural cattle station near Glenmorgan, west of Toowoomba, last week.
She awoke in the early hours of the morning to a horrifying pain.
“I just remember rolling over and I’ve felt like this very strong like bite,” she told 9News.
“I was definitely scared. I’m not going to lie.”
The bite was from a deadly eastern brown snake – the second most venomous land snake in the world – which had been nestled under the blanket.
“I remember jumping out of bed straight away because it gave me such a fright,” Leadbetter said.
“My hand just felt like it was on fire and I could feel it was starting to travel up my arm.”
Leadbetter called her mum, who then rang the family she was working for at the cattle station.
They quickly wrapped her arm with a compression bandage, which kept her stable while paramedics were flown into the remote property.
She was then airlifted to Toowoomba Hospital, where she received anti-venom.
“They still knew it could go either way. It was very touch and go,” Leadbetter said.
A week on from the horrifying encounter, Leadbetter said snake bite first aid was critical knowledge that should be taught in schools.
“It saved my life and it can save other people’s lives too,” she said.
