A father has recounted the terrifying moment he was paralysed by one of the world's most venomous sea creatures while wading in waist-deep water at a popular Sydney beach.
A Seemingly Innocent Shell Turns Deadly
On February 5 last year, at around 1pm, Jaun-Paul 'JP' Kalman was enjoying the shallows of Balmoral Beach in the Mosman area of Sydney, Australia. The then 43-year-old reached into the water and picked up what he believed was an oyster shell. To his horror, he found a tiny but lethally venomous blue-ringed octopus wrapped around his thumb.
"The head of the octopus was the size of a small marble, and its tentacles were wrapped around my knuckle," Kalman described. He noted the animal's magnificent, bright yellow colouring and its infamous, flashing blue rings. The pulsating blue spots indicated the creature was agitated and, critically, "it was biting me." Initially, he felt no pain and calmly flicked the octopus away before sitting on his towel to research symptoms.
Rapid Onset of Paralysis and a Race for Survival
Approximately 20 minutes later, the potent neurotoxin began its devastating work. Kalman's thumb went numb, followed swiftly by his lips. His speech started to slur, prompting him to call his ex-wife, Courtney, for help. "By that time I had numbed lips, I was in a state of confusion, and I was having trouble speaking," he said.
Courtney rushed to the beach and drove him to Royal North Shore Hospital. The venom, however, was rapidly taking hold, causing full-body paralysis while leaving him fully conscious. "I could hear everything. I could see everything. I could feel them touching me. I was just completely paralysed," Kalman told 9News.
By 2.30pm, he could no longer move or breathe unaided. Medical staff placed him into an induced coma for 20 hours as they fought to keep him alive. "I was thinking, oh God, is this the end? I actually remember saying, 'I don’t want to die, I’ve got kids,'" he recalled.
Aftermath and a Stark Warning from Nature
Even after waking, Kalman suffered repeated episodes of paralysis in hospital. Shockingly, the day after he was discharged, he collapsed and was paralysed again in an Aldi supermarket aisle. Despite the trauma, he says the incident has left him with profound gratitude. "I am the luckiest man alive. If it were one of my kids who had been bitten, they would not be here today," he stated.
The blue-ringed octopus, measuring just 12cm to 20cm, is not aggressive but carries a fearsome defence. Its bite delivers tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide for which there is no known antidote. The creature's brilliant blue rings only flash as a warning when it feels threatened. Historical records suggest these small octopuses have been responsible for approximately 11 human fatalities.
Kalman's survival underscores both the hidden dangers in seemingly safe waters and the critical importance of swift emergency action. "If it wasn't for her, I'd be dead. I absolutely owe her my life," he said of his ex-wife's lifesaving intervention.
