A Darling Downs man is in a critical condition in a Brisbane hospital after he was bitten by a venomous brown snake on a property at Vale View, south-west of Toowoomba.
Roger Taylor, whose wife Carol Taylor is the Toowoomba Regional Council's Deputy Mayor, was bitten by the potentially deadly snake while moving bird netting on Friday night.
Ms Taylor, who was not home at the time, said her husband first thought he had been scratched.
"He's gotten cranky with it [the netting] and picked it up to throw it out of the way, not realising that there was a snake entwined in it and it's bitten him I think four times," she said.
The 76-year-old then drove 30 minutes to Toowoomba to attend a friend's birthday dinner where he collapsed and hit his head.
Ms Taylor said she found a snake more than one metre in length tangled in the netting the next morning.
Mr Taylor was treated at the Toowoomba Base Hospital but had to be airlifted to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane when his condition deteriorated.
Ms Taylor said "the good news" is the venom has left her husband's body, but he remains unconscious due to the head trauma.
He has undergone surgery to relieve pressure on his brain.
"How he wakes up, if he wakes up, those sorts of things, we ask people please to pray for us. It could be weeks; it could even be months," she said.
The couple's son has travelled from Italy to be by his father's side.
Ms Taylor praised the professionalism of hospital staff and the LifeFlight rescue crew and thanked the Toowoomba community for its support.
She also urged people to be on the lookout for snakes as the dry weather forces more of them to seek out food and water and escape the hot conditions.
In a Facebook post, Ms Taylor's colleague, councillor Bill Cahill, said the Deputy Mayor had been "overwhelmed" by the kindness shown already.
"Carol asked us to thank everyone for [their] prayers and said it has helped [so] much, the family are very appreciative," he said.
"After the operation last night they now [have to] wait until doctors review [the case] and make decisions about [the] next steps."
