Brit dad left ‘totally blind’ after being bitten by King Cobra has now lost use of both legs, brother says
A DAD left "totally blind" after he was bitten by a King Cobra has now lost the use of both of his legs, his brother said.
Ian Jones, 49, was just 30 minutes from death after he was bitten on the arm by the venomous reptile in an Indian village in November last year.
Ian's brother Mark said the outlook for his brother was "very bleak".
Mark said: “It is not good, I do know that.
“He had been starting to improve, but recently – a month or two ago – things took another turn for the worse and he has lost the use of his legs completely now. It’s very grim for him.
“He told me he was deteriorating again when I last spoke to him in early May on his birthday. He’s changed his number since then and I haven’t heard from him since, but things weren’t looking good.
“Ian told me he was not likely to get the use of his legs back.”
Ian returned home to his family on the Isle of Wight in December.
Colleagues revealed the dad-of-two was “relaxing” at his charity Sabirian's workplace near Jodhpur, Rajasthan, when the black hooded cobra bit his lower arm and hand.
At the time of the bite, he was battling his second bout of coronavirus after first catching the killer bug back in March.
Mike Bulpitt, who has worked with Mr Jones for six years, said the snake bite “exacerbated” his Covid-19 symptoms.
His charity set up a to raise funds to pay for his care and revealed he is confined to a wheelchair.
Just how dangerous is the King Cobra?
The King Cobra is one of the most venomous snakes on the planet and can literally "stand up" and look a full-grown person in the eye.
When confronted, they can lift up to a third of its body off the ground and still move forward to attack.
They can measure up to 18ft in length and can deliver enough venom in a single bite to kill 20 humans or even bring down an elephant.
King Cobra venom affects the respiratory centers in the brain, causing respiratory arrest and cardiac failure.
The snakes live mainly in the rainforests and plains of India, southern China, and Southeast Asia.
Colleague Mr Bulpitt told The Sun Online: "Ian was just relaxing at the charity workplace when he was bitten between his lower arm and hand by the Cobra.
“He was already feeling a little under the weather before the bite which, without treatment, you can die from within 30 minutes.
“The venom from the bite can kill an elephant, and it must have allowed the virus to re-establish itself.
"The snake bite caused the Covid symptoms to exacerbate, and he fell in and out of a coma for the next two or three days.”
The family of Mr Jones, who lives with his wife and two sons in Ryde, previously said they “don't know what the future holds” for him.
In a statement, they said: "Ian has a long road to recovery ahead of him and we don’t yet know what the future holds but we remain positive and hopeful that we will be able to bring him home soon.”
Mr Jones, who helps poverty-stricken families, has already battled malaria and dengue fever.
Ian's son Seb said: “Dad is a fighter, during his time out in India he had already suffered from Malaria and Dengue Fever even before Covid-19.
Most read in News
"And yet he had remained resolute in his determination to stay in the country and continue his work to help the people that needed his support.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“He had not been able to travel home due to the pandemic and as a family we understood his desire to continue to support the many people who relied on him.
"We were naturally concerned about him though and then when we heard he had also suffered what is usually a fatal snake bite on top of all that he had been through, we honestly could not believe it.”
