As many Whitsunday residents are aware, Stinger Season is in full force, but one young boy who wasn't expecting a sting back in September, is 11-year-old Reef Brookes, whose experience has prompted action from his mother.
The school holidays had just started and the Brookes Family, like many other families on a nice day, headed down to the beach. While this was a typical activity for the water-loving family, they were not prepared for what was about to happen.
Mel Brookes, Reef’s mum said they had gone to the beach with friends, when Reef came running out of the water exclaiming that he had been bitten by what he thought was a crab.
As he rushed over to the group showing his ankle, Mel discovered it was not a crab bite, as the back of his ankle was covered in welts.
After pouring water on the wound, it started to spread, and Mel realised that it had to be serious due to the rate it was spreading.
Thinking on her feet, Mel quickly poured vinegar on it, however, the welts then morphed into one huge blister.
Alarm bells ringing, Mel called for an ambulance. In the meantime, Reef was screaming his head off in what Mel described as “excruciating pain.”
“When the ambulance arrived, they took one look at it and said it was a suspected Irukandji sting,” Mel explained.
Instantly the young boy was attached to an ECG machine to monitor his vital signs and transported to Proserpine Hospital where he was administered pain relief.
While Reef wasn't wearing a stinger suit as it was September, Mel says that she will now encourage her family to wear them all year round:
“We will definitely be wearing them all year round now as I don't think jellyfish know calendars!”
Reflecting on the situation Mel explained how hard it was to see her son in so much pain:
“It was pretty horrific, but he's been so brave since, and it definitely hasn't scared him off the water.”
Having gone through such an arduous ordeal trying to find items to relieve her son's pain, Mel has created marine stinger kits which provide everything needed in order to deal with a sting, that she wished she had that day on the beach:
“He wanted to go straight back in the next week, we just had to make sure that we had everything organised, and that's basically how we ended up creating these marine kits.”
The well thought out kits contain, electrolytes, ginger tablets, a vinegar bottle, Australian made sunscreen, aloe vera and insect repellant, a waterproof phone case and basic CPR and marine stinger cards made lovingly by the Brookes children.
Take care this stinger season, and be aware of the dangers of Irukandjis.
Mel and Reef Brookes at the beach
Mel and Reef Brookes
Irukandji kits
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