Stingray Attack At Manly

[mrmoshe]

Stingray attack at Manly

A SEAFORTH man stung by a stingray in Little Manly pool on Saturday is grateful the animal did not attack his seven-year-old daughter.

Recovering from the weekend incident, Shaun Parren said yesterday the encounter with the ray was like being hit with a sledgehammer.

``I'm 188cm tall and weigh 100kg, so I'm a big boy,'' Mr Parren said.

``When it stung my ankle, I'd put it at nine out of 10 for pain, and then my leg went numb below the knee. I'd hate to think what it would have done to a child.''

Mr Parren was in the pool with his daughter when he was stung twice.

``As I put my foot on the ground it hit me - either with two barbs or it double-hit me,'' he said.

``I was in agony.

``As I was leaving the pool my leg was giving way. A bloke saw I was bleeding and he helped me. Two blokes carried me to the grassed area and bandaged me but my leg was getting number. By then I couldn't feel anything below my knee.

``A bloke named Gary said he'd run me up to the hospital.

It was a Saab with leather seats but he had no concerns about them getting wet. And when I got to the hospital the nurses were wonderful.''

Yesterday Mr Parren was still hobbling around with a bandage on his ankle.

``I just want to thank everyone who helped me on Saturday,'' he said.

``The blokes who helped me were all proper Aussie boys - they saw a problem and they sorted it. The community spirit down there was brilliant.''

[mrmoshe]

Manly's double sting

Manly Daily 12 January

12Jan07

TWO men were stung by stingrays on the same day and within a few hundred metres of each other on Saturday in a rare occurrence.

Both were stung on the foot and both said the pain was unlike anything they had ever experienced.

A stingray expert at Manly's Oceanworld said she had never heard of two people being stung on the same day and in such close proximity.

The Manly Daily reported on Tuesday that Seaforth man Shaun Perren was stung by a stingray as he swam in the pool at Little Manly Beach.

Mr Perren was taken to Manly Hospital for treatment after being assisted by witnesses.

Three hours earlier Manly resident Joe Davis was stung on the foot by a stingray at Store Beach.

``I had kayaked from the wharf and was at the beach for about an hour,'' he said.

``As I walked into the water I suddenly felt something. The pain was unlike any pain I've ever felt in my life - it was horrific.

``If they had asked me if I wanted my foot chopped off I would have said, `Yes'.''

Craig Moulds, from the Manly Boat and Kayak Centre, was among the rescuers that helped Mr Davis get treatment as soon as possible.

At the hospital Mr Davis was given four shots of morphine and two of local anaesthetic.

Mr Davis is now back at work and is planning to return to Store Beach soon.

``I'll go back to the same spot to leave any fears behind,'' he said. ``It's such a rare occurrence but I guess the death of Steve Irwin has made stingrays a bigger story.''

The Oceanworld spokeswoman said ray stings were quite rare but extremely painful.

``One of our team at Sydney Aquarium was stung by a stingray and he described it as the most excruciating experience.

``Stingrays do defend themselves but most of the time they'd rather move out of the way.''

[Guest Aron]

Saw a report on ABC news last night about a fellow getting stung - caught a ray while fishing so rather than cutting the line he fliped it over to remove the hook - the ray flicked and got him in his foot - he was in a lot of pain but had to wait for a lift to the hospital for treatment cause he did not want to pay for the ambalance.

Footage showed him resting at home with a bandage on his ankle with a coldie in his hand - thats got to hurt

[femalefisho]

Few years ago Jim got stung. Went through his foot. Still got the scar. He said it was the most horrific pain, numb and light headed. He thought his foot must have got taken off at first cause the pain was so bad. Would not like to experience myself!!!