A father from Britain that was battling coronavirus was bitten by a black king cobra, which left him blind and paralyzed.
The incident happened in India.
According to the family of Ian Jones, the British man, the man was brought to a hospital in a serious condition after the attack.
The father was brought to a hospital after being bitten by a black king cobra in a village that is located in northwest India.
Jones, a former health care worker, traveled to India from the Isle of Wight as he was helping people trade their way out of poverty.
Jones runs Sabirian, a charity-backed social enterprise.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, Jones could not travel back to the UK.
The horrible incident happened in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
The family said that Jones is a fighter.
They also hope that the blindness and paralysis will be temporary.
Seb, the son of Jones, said that his father had already experienced malaria, dengue, and contracted the coronavirus.
Despite all that, the father was determined to stay in India and help out the people that needed his help.
Seb added:
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 snakebite on top of all that he had been through, we honestly could not believe it. It really has been touch and go, he is stable at the moment although he has paralysis in his legs and blindness, both of which we hope is temporary, but it is clear he is going to need to remain in hospital out there for some time to come. We are extremely grateful to his colleagues there who have been brilliant and rallied around him in his time of need, as indeed he did for them.
The Community Action Isle of Wight, which owns Sabirian, set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds to cover Mr. Jones’s medical costs.
The money that people donate will also help him get back to the UK.
There is a goal of £8,000.
The GoFundMe page says:
We need your help for our social enterprise CEO Ian Jones who is fighting for his life in India in hospital with a second bout of COVID-19 and a potentially deadly Cobra bite. Former Isle of Wight healthcare worker Ian Jones, who now runs Sabirian, a charity-backed social enterprise importing fairly traded crafts, has been in intensive care since he suffered the poisonous bite from an Indian Black King Cobra in the village where he is based in India. Ian was, at the time, already battling a second bout of COVID-19, having survived an earlier attack in March, when the snake bite took matters to a whole new level of severity. Ian suffered the potentially fatal bite whilst at his Jodphur base, where many of the local craftsmen and women that Sabirian support live and work. He had moved out of the city so that he could continue to provide support during the pandemic and, because of travel restrictions, has been unable to travel home to his family on the Island.
Sabirian, the group, helps around 70 Indian people that are aged between 18 to 87.
They offer training to import and sell their crafts and furniture in the United Kingdom in the best sustainable and most ethical way.
Mike Bulpitt, a member of the Community Action Isle of Wight, talked about Ian and said:
Ian has put so much on the line to continue to support the people out in India that he works with, living in difficult conditions and being away from his own family and friends on the island for most of the year. He is now facing a long road to recovery and we are appealing for any fundraising support people can give to help us meet his medical costs, until he can eventually be brought home. We hope that he will soon be able to get back to the work he loves and to supporting those that need him, but right now he needs all our help to get through this battle to survive.
You can donate by clicking here.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Ian, may he recover fast and get back with his family in England.