Boy Bitten By Deadly Snake Gains Back His Sight and Can Stand Up on His Own

Eli Campbell, the boy who was bitten by a coastal taipan and was left fighting for his life has shown an amazing recovery after gaining back his eyesight and standing up on his own.

Two-year-old Eli Campbell was bitten three times by a coastal taipan while collecting eggs from his family’s chicken pen in Queensland’s Agnes Waters on September 26, suffering a cardiac arrest. He was declared dead for six minutes and was left paralysed, but paramedics were able to revive him.

He was rushed to hospital in a critical condition and suffering days of seizures. Doctors had reportedly told Eli’s parents, Giles Campbell and Brittany Cervantes to prepare for the fact that he might go blind and suffer other debilitating effects.

However, three months after the incident, in a recent update posted by his parents on a GoFundMe page set up for the tot, they say their son continues to amaze them as he slowly gained back his sight and can already stand up on his own.

“Now for the best news we could hear as parents, Eli passed an eye test for any standard 2 year old, brain-injured or not.

“He was able to demonstrate fixing on an object and following it with both eyes and with each eye individually.

“He was also able to pick up very small objects placed in front of him. We still don’t know if he is able to see in colour, that will be something that can be assessed later.”

Eli’s parents say their boy is gradually getting back to his “energetic self”. “Eli took his first unassisted steps 2 weeks ago … He is currently sitting, standing and walking (a little awkwardly) on his own.

“An amazing moment for Giles and I was while walking along the Brisbane River at South Bank, Eli looked at the water and said “ocean” (Ocean is what he used to call most bodies of water before the incident). We just looked at each other with teary eyes and said ‘he can see’,” they said.

While Eli still has a long road to recovery ahead, the family has thanked those who have supported them so far, emotionally and financially, throughout the traumatic ordeal.

Snake experts say Eli is lucky to be alive as children are more susceptible to the bites of this type of snake, which is the third most venomous snake in Australia. It was believed that the snake was likely searching for rats and mice when caught off-guard by the toddler. Dan Lynch from Sunshine Coast Snake Catchers believed Eli may have even accidentally stood on the snake considering it struck him three times.

Sources: Aww.com.au, Dailymail.co.uk, Au.news.yahoo.com, Brisbanetimes.com.au and Dailymail.co.uk