The survival of a 21-year-old man who accidentally drank a concoction of highly toxic weed killers has been labeled a miracle.
Damien Terry, from the NSW Central Coast, began vomiting violently after going to the public bathrooms during a trip to a sports field in August.
Mr Terry, who has severe autism, had taken a drink from an abandoned Coke bottle he found in the toilets.
The bottle contained a combination of commercial weed killers Paraquat and Diquat and had been left unmarked in the public space.
Damien Terry, from the NSW Central Coast, spent two weeks in hospital after drinking commercial weed killer Paraquat, which he found in an unmarked Coke bottle
The Terry family were told to expect the worst as their son was admitted to Gosford Hospital.
‘The doctors basically said to us that Damien probably had 12 hours to live,’ Mr Terry’s mother Julie told ABC.
Ms Terry said she was told ‘nobody survives from ingesting Paraquat’.
But after spending two weeks in hospital, the 21-year-old was given the all clear and is now on the road to recovery.
Safety warnings on all Paraquat products explain that the chemical should not be placed in drinking containers and must be labelled clearly.
There is no antidote if it is ingested and has been the cause of thousands of deaths worldwide
Mr Terry’s family wants the deadly weed killer – which has been under review by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority since 1997 – to be banned nationwide.
Safety warnings on all Paraquat products explain that the chemical should not be placed in drinking containers and must be labelled clearly.
There is no antidote if it is ingested and has been the cause of thousands of deaths worldwide.
‘It defies logic in my mind that this is available over the counter for anybody to purchase,’ Ms Terry said.
The popular weed killer is used by farmers across Australia, but is banned in more than 30 countries across the world.
The agricultural industry has previously said a ban on Paraquat would hurt farmers, calling for tighter regulations on the chemical instead.