Pete Bethune’s health, bitten by a snake, worsens

The conservationist Pete Bethune, bitten by a snake, has worsened yesterday and the doctors increased the dose of his drug, since the “ton” of poison that still remains in his body caused an increase in blood pressure.

A sleepy, slurred Bethune provided her daily video health update from a hospital bed in Costa Rica today.

The author, television presenter and captain of the ship, originally from Hamilton, was bitten by a Fer-de-lance viper in the jungle of Costa Rica on December 26.

“Last night was a fucking night actually, I had a lot more pain and the doctors came back and said there’s still a fucking ton of poison, well they didn’t use those words, but there’s still a lot of poison inside of me,” Bethune said.

“There is still a lot of internal bleeding.

“So today drug rates are back up and I’m more sleepy than usual.”

At one point in the video message, Bethune loses her train of thought and has to stop, saying “I can’t even think.”

The Fer-de-lance viper is highly venomous and is responsible for the majority of snakebites of any species in Costa Rica.

Conservationist Pete Bethune’s left leg has doubled in size since it was bitten by a venomous snake in Costa Rica. Photo / Supplied

Bethune said doctors “came back to monitor me every hour” and that her blood pressure had risen.

“Blood pressure has gone back up, it was around 100/60, which is typical for me. Now it’s back to around 130, 135. My pulse has gone up to around 140. Normally, it’s much less than that.

“So I’m afraid I’m not out of the woods yet. I was hoping I could send you a message with a lot of good news, but it’s not good news at all.”

In better news for the 55-year-old man, he went to the bathroom for the first time yesterday since the accident.

“On a positive note, I managed to go to the bathroom. It was more of a relief than anything else, it had been bothering me for a couple of days that I hadn’t been able to go to the bathroom,” Bethune said. .

He had also experienced some anatomical improvements.

“Oh my balls aren’t as black as they were either,” Bethune said.

“They gave me an ice pack for my balls. Apparently, for snakebite victims where you are putting a large volume of liquid on them to make them turn a little black with the catheter system.”

He said that despite not being “out of the woods,” his doctors “still seem confident.”