(Photo: LifeFlight)
July 21, 2026
An ordinary day in March quickly turned into a frightening medical emergency for Wondai local Tomasz Machajski when he was bitten by an Eastern Brown snake.
Mr Machajski was working on his house when frantic barking from his dogs alerted him to the fact that the deadly snake had slithered on to the property.
“My Jack Russell fox terrier, Ophelia, was going for the snake, and I didn’t want her to get bitten,” Mr Machajski said.
“I thought if I could grab the snake behind the head, I could get it away from Ophelia but it bit me as I tried to take hold of it.”
The highly venomous snake bit him on the tip of his finger.
“I didn’t really know what to do after the snake bit me, and it wasn’t a great feeling,” he said.
“We have quite an extensive first aid kit and I was able to get a pressure bandage on.
“I called Triple Zero and an ambulance arrived in 20 minutes to drive me to Kingaroy Hospital. While I was waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I felt fine. I was sitting in bed, wondering what was going to happen,” he said.
On the way to the hospital, he began to feel the effects of the venom.
“I was getting hot flushes, vomiting and felt pins and needles in my hand,” he said.
Medical staff at Kingaroy Hospital gave Mr Machajski antivenom before determining he needed further care in Toowoomba.
“I was a bit blank for a few hours and by then my wife was next to me and they were talking about me being airlifted,” he said.
The Toowoomba LifeFlight aeromedical team flew to Kingaroy and airlifted Mr Machajski to hospital, with a specialist critical care doctor on board and the equipment needed to monitor and stabilise him throughout the flight.
“They were very calm and knew what they were doing. They flew me to Toowoomba Hospital and I stayed in the ICU for a day,” he said.
Mr Machajski’s wife, Oksana, slept in the car that night with the family dogs, terrified she would encounter another snake.
The couple are now encouraging others to learn what to do in the first critical minutes of a medical emergency.
At LifeFlight’s free First Minutes Matter trauma training workshops, participants learn practical skills that can save lives, including how to respond to snake bites, burns and cardiac arrest.
The Machajskis recently attended a First Minutes Matter workshop in Murgon.
“The course was absolutely amazing. It helped to reinforce what I already know and taught my wife and me new things,” he said.
“The more people that are prepared, the more lives that are saved. Even if you take 10 per cent of it home, that’s 10 per cent more than you knew yesterday.”
LifeFlight critical care doctor Philip Gardiner was on shift for Mr Machajski’s airlift.
Dr Gardiner said the first minutes in an emergency are critical, and knowing what to do can make a life-saving difference.
“If you’re bitten by a snake, you should get to the hospital to be assessed. Knowing what to do is life-saving, and it’s why courses like First Minutes Matter can be so beneficial,” Dr Gardiner said.
Mr Machajski said the ordeal had also changed how they prepare for emergencies at home, including making sure they now have a snake bite pressure bandage.
“If you value your life, then do the First Minutes Matter course. You might be the difference to whether the people you love are with you next year,” he said.
- External link: First Minutes Matter
