The Night I Nearly Lost Blacky
Blacky has always been fearless, but nothing prepared me for the moment I found her fighting for her life in the early hours of the morning. Only hours earlier she had dragged a brown snake into the house and sparred with it until WIRES removed it. She seemed perfectly fine afterwards, and I watched her carefully before going to bed.
At 3am, I woke with a sense of dread. I went downstairs and found her collapsed and unresponsive. Everything blurred into panic. I carried her to the car and drove straight to 24/7 Emergency at SASH Western Sydney — a 40-minute trip through the dark, listening to her faint moans beside me.
The team took her in instantly. For two days they worked around the clock to save her, giving two rounds of anti-venom and providing constant monitoring. There were long stretches when I didn’t know if she would survive.
What got me through was the extraordinary care from everyone who treated her. They updated me before each shift change, explained every development clearly, and showed a genuine affection for my girl that went far beyond clinical duty. Their calm and compassion made an unbearable wait feel survivable.
Slowly, Blacky began to return to me. She lifted her head, responded to their touch, and before long had won the hearts of the entire team.
Today she’s home, recovering in her favourite sunny spot — a little wiser (I hope), still just as brave, and very much alive thanks to the extraordinary people at SASH.
– Western Sydney NSW
