Durban - A plucky KwaZulu-Natal six-year-old who was last month bitten by one of Africa’s most dangerous snakes, has made a remarkable recovery and recently started ‘big school’.
Recounting the January incident, little Mikayla Grove’s father, Ludwig Grove, said when he and his wife, Inge, heard screams coming from their daughters’ bedroom that night, they initially thought one of the girls was having a nightmare.
But when Inge went to investigate, she was met with a spray of venom to her eye.
“She grabbed Mikayla and rushed to the bathroom … Mikayla’s big sister, Bella, got out of bed and switched on the light just as I came to the room, and saw a Mozambican spitting cobra lying on Mikayla’s pillow,” Ludwig said.
While Inge was washing the venom out of her eyes, Ludwig noticed two small spots of blood on Mikayla’s left cheek and realised that she had been bitten.
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“We bundled the kids into the car and took a bottle of water with us so that my wife could continue washing her eyes,” he said.
Mikayla’s recovery at Netcare Alberlito Hospital was not without challenges and she had to be taken to theatre four times in six days, to clean out an infection caused by the snake bite.
But the girl’s parents thanked hospital staff for their efforts in saving Mikayla’s life and securing her rapid recovery.
And, they said, she was very excited to attend her first day big school’.
“We have spoken to her about her experience and I think she understands what she has been through. Mikayla was glad to hear that the snake that bit her was not killed but was released back into the wild. She even decided to name the snake ‘Pearl’,” her father said.