By Jacques Breytenbach
He has been bitten 28 times in his life. That is almost one snake bite a year. But now at 34, "Nutty Natie" Swart is at a crossroads.
Doctors at Kalafong Hospital in Atteridgeville were expected to make a decision on whether to amputate one of his toes this morning. The puff adder bite Swart suffered on Monday night at the Chameleon Village Reptile and Conservation Park at Hartbeespoort Dam has proved to be more than just an obstacle in his bid to become the first man to live with 40 venomous snakes for 121 days.
"I am all right. It just hurts. I never wanted to be here. It was the most stupid snake bite I have ever received. The doctor took the bandages off this (yesterday) morning and showed me my leg. It looks bad," Swart said in hospital.
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Doctors operated on Tuesday to relieve the swelling.
"They have done enough cutting. I will not allow them to cut up to here," Swart said, pointing at the inside of his upper leg to where the puff adder's cytotoxic venom had spread, resulting in the skin turning blue.
Swart, who has had 21 years' experience in handling some of the world's deadliest snakes, was bitten on day 37 of his Guinness world record attempt.
The incident took place when Swart was handling a black mamba on a cupboard. Little did he know that the puff adder was lying under a chair, centimetres from his foot.
Other snakes sharing the enclosure with Swart were black and green mambas, boomslangs and different species of cobras.
Another snake handler, André Naude, will remain in the enclosure as a substitute for Swart.
"André must look after the enclosure until I get back. And that day will be soon. I wish I could have been treated inside the enclosure," Swart said, adding that the bite was the second worst in his life.
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