When I was in Australia

Extract from Ben's blog :

Now I've spent nearly six months here in the tropical paradise that is Queensland ... I've avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake - but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I fell foul of a minuscule little creature known as an Irukandji.

One day, I was swimming on a quiet beach on Hamilton Island when I felt a small bee-like sting on my forearm. I thought it was nothing at the time and it disappeared very quickly so I left the beach to head to a sports massage appointment I had. As I arrived I noticed that my feet and hands were tingling slightly ... I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, had a headache and felt pretty sick too, together with pain in my lower back and a tightness in the chest and a really high blood pressure - all classic symptoms of Irukandji syndrome! Oh my god the worst jellyfish! ... The doctor knew instantly what it was; it was such a deadly sting... He didn't wait, straight away he started the course of a treatment. I had a couple of injections which immediately took away the uncomfortable pain. Oh gosh that really hurt, it was sooooo painful... but I finally slept for two days. I can't believe it happened to me.