Conservationist out of hospital
Kiwi conservationist Pete Bethune has been discharged from hospital and is back on his ship after being bitten by one of South America’s deadliest snakes.
Bethune was bitten by a deadly fer-de-lance snake just after Christmas while working in the jungle in Costa Rica’s Peninsula de Osa National Park.
He has been in hospital for nearly a fortnight.
Speaking to Stuff via video yesterday (NZ time), a few hours after getting out of hospital, Hamilton-born Bethune said he had a catheter bag on one side, ‘‘a dodgy leg on the other’’ but was ‘‘happy to be home and happy to be alive’’.
It had been a tumultuous two weeks for Bethune, particularly over the past few days when things ‘‘became quite dark for me. I thought I would never get out of [hospital]’’.
When Bethune was bitten he ‘‘honestly thought my number was up’’.
After traversing waterfalls and cliffs for hours to get out of the jungle, ‘‘pushing the poison around my body’’, Bethune was picked up by boat and hospitalised.
The first few days were a morphine-induced blur, as a doctor administered Bethune the highest level of anti-venom he had ever given a patient.
Bethune remembered thinking he would be out of hospital within a few days but experienced ‘‘more and more complications’’ with his treatment every day.
The last few days saw issues with his bladder, a ‘‘nasty’’ rash on his back, and pain in his leg where he was bitten.
But on Saturday (NZ time) things started to come right – the swelling subsided, and his blood and urine tests came back clear.
‘‘The smile has not left my face since I got out ... I amone happy camper.’’
Bethune’s recovery would be ongoing.
There is a ‘‘growth’’ in his leg at the site of the snake bite where the muscle was damaged and a zone of dead (necrotic) tissue, which he said could be permanent.
He can ‘‘gingerly’’ walk at the moment but said a lot of the strength and flexibility in his leg had gone.
‘‘But I amalive and I will settle for that.’’
Bethune said it had been ‘‘quite a difficult ordeal’’ for him – one he said had made him ‘‘evaluate and reset’’ his priorities – but he would be back in the jungle soon enough.
‘‘There is plenty of work lined up, I will be a busy boy.’’
Bethune also faces a weighty medical bill following his brush with death.
However, as ofmidday yesterday an American Gofundme page had amassed more than
Hamilton-born Pete Bethune said he had a catheter bag on one side, ‘‘a dodgy leg on the other’’ but was ‘‘happy to be home and happy to be alive’’.
US$19,600 (NZ$27,000) in donations – two-thirds of the fundraising goal.
In what he said would be his final ‘‘snake bite update’’ Facebook Live yesterday morning, Bethune thanked those who had messaged him words of support over the past weeks.
‘‘It has been pretty tough ... [one of] the toughest things I have gone through,’’ he said.
That so many had reached out and ‘‘rustled up support’’ had him feeling ‘‘very blessed’’.