I received an email today from my youngest brother saying "Do you remember taking me to the clinic in Mexico after the stingray got me in the foot - after you and Cath continued to surf while I sat in pain on the beach" and attached was a link to the story about the tragic death of Steve Irwin - killed by a stingray strike to the heart.
I've been watching the news about Steve Irwin's death and I noted that one expert stated that once stung by a stingray you should immerse that part of your body in very hot water to break down the protein based venom from the stingray. Patrick: While you were sitting on the beach waiting for your wife and I to finish surfing you should have been putting your foot in very hot water.
I confess now that I feel somewhat guilty about treating my youngest brother's injuries so lightly. We mercilessly took the piss out of him each day as we counted the injuries that he was sporting. There were usually between 3 and 6 complaints on any one day. I believe that the stingray sting lasted about a month and after inflicted went straight to position number one.
It wasn't only his wife and I that noticed the pain that he was in. There was also an armadillo that took interest. It was about 1 o'clock in the morning and we were heading back to Puerto Angel after spending some time at a bar further down the beach. An armadillo was scavenging in someone's rubbish bin and a couple of dogs had found it and started chasing it. The armadillo, being a clever little fellow, knew that it couldn't outrun the dogs and so had to create a diversion. Mr Armadillo took a look at the three of us and must have noticed my brother's limp and decided to use him as the decoy by darting between his legs. The dogs knocked Patrick over and got tangled up with him and the exceptionally clever armadillo escaped.
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