10-year-old Rachael Shardlow Survives Being Stung by a Poisonous Jellyfish
Girl Survives Sting from an Australian Jellyfish
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April 28, 2010
When Rachael Shardlow went swimming in a river in the northeast portion of Australia's Queensland state, the last thing that her parents expected her to encounter was a jellyfish. However, the 10-year-old was stung by a large box jellyfish, the sting of which is typically fatal to an adult, according to the Associated Press.
The girl's brother pulled her from the water after the sea creature had wrapped its tentacles around her. Rachael told him that she couldn't see or breathe before she slipped out of consciousness, according to the news provider.
The experts are shocked that the child survived the sting, as it seems that no one else has ever been stung by a box jellyfish and lived to tell about it. However, Rachael seems to be thriving.
"The greatest fear was actual brain damage [but] her cognitive skills and memory tests were all fine," her father, Geoff Shardlow, told ABC.
Box jellyfish are notorious for being deadly, and can be found in Northern Australia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Hawaii, and Vietnam and around the world in other warm, tropical waters.
The U.S. National Science Foundation reports that it's difficult to determine exactly how many fatalities occur from box jellyfish, but the number is estimated to be between 20 and 40 annually.
