A father travelling around the outback with his family survived a terrifying ordeal after being bitten by a snake while camping hours away from the nearest hospital.
Nathan Helms had just showered at their campsite in Karijini National Park in Western Australia’s north, when he felt ‘something move against his foot’.
His wife, Renee, was inside putting their son to sleep when they heard Mr Helms yell out to her after being bitten on his foot.
Renee (pictured), Nathan and their son Ryan are full-time travelers, travelling around Australia- they’re used to camping in desolate locations in Australia’s outback
Nathan Helms (left, right) had just showered with his thongs when he felt ‘a piercing bite on his toe’
Mrs Helms, who runs the travel blog The Great Escape, recounted the worrying story on Facebook, telling how she carefully planned the next crucial moments.
‘I told Nathan not to move and went to grab the first aid kit from the car… he knew not to move. And I knew that he’d likely have to be flown out to a bigger hospital,’ Mrs Helms, an emergency care nurse, wrote.
Because they couldn’t identify what type of snake it was, they had to expect the worst and act fast.
Within minutes, they had applied a double pressure bandage from toe to thigh, packed a bag, and were on their way to Tom Price Hospital, almost two hours’ drive away.
The pair tried to call Triple Zero several times but due to the service in the outback, none of them went through.
Fortunately, the pair reached a patch of reception and managed to connect with an ambulance.
Renee runs The Great Escape blog on Facebook which recounts all of her adventures (pictured are Mr and Mrs Helms and their son Ryan)
They were told to pull over onto the side of the road, turn on their hazards and pull over once they saw the ambulance lights.
‘I was so very grateful to see those lights,’ Mrs Helms wrote.
As they couldn’t tell emergency services what snake had bitten him, Nathan was forced to board a Royal Flying Doctor Service flight, which transported him to Port Hedland.
Mrs Helms returned to camp with her son and packed up, solo for the first time since they began their travels and made the trek back to Port Hedland.
After a series of blood tests and an over-night stay, Mr Helms was given the all clear by doctors, meaning he was either bitten by a non-venomous snake or a venomous snake which did not extract any venom into his toe.
‘It’s been a very emotional and exhausting 24 hours. And I’m pretty glad Nathan is all good,’ she wrote.
Mrs Helms ended the post by praising the fast response from the volunteer ambulance workers, and the help from RFDS and staff at Tom Price Hospital.
The family were camping at Karijini National Park, (pictured here) western Australia when Nathan received the bite