A good son: Nikita and Olga tearfully remembering their two-year-old son Vladimir. — Picture from social media
PETALING JAYA: “He is our hero, our little angel. Every day we tell him we love him and he would always respond by saying he loves us,” says a devastated 32-year-old Russian mother of her two-year-old son who succumbed to a box jellyfish sting.
The woman, identified as Olga, said although her son Vladimir Lakubanets was just a toddler, he was a loving and helpful child.
Vladimir died on Wednesday – five days after he was stung at Pantai Chenang, Langkawi.
“We hope this tragedy serves as a reminder to beachgoers of the dangers of box jellyfish,” she said, a Malay daily reported.
The toddler’s father, Nikita, also 32, recounted the incident, saying he and his wife were swimming in shallow waters with Vladimir on Saturday when their son screamed out in pain.
He said he went to his son’s aid and moments later, found the boy not breathing.
The IT engineer from Khabarovsk, Russia, said he performed CPR on his son before other beachgoers helped rush Vladimir to the lifeguards.
Nikita said the lifeguards cleaned his son’s injuries with vinegar before taking him to Hospital Sultanah Maliha.
He said Vladimir was then transferred to Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar the following day.
“Doctors told us that the jellyfish sting had caused our son’s heart to stop. He also had serious injuries on his legs, which were caused by the sting,” Nikita said.
Nikita expressed his gratitude to medical personnel for giving their best and making every effort to save the boy.
He said it was his family’s first visit to Malaysia and they had arrived just a day before the beach outing.
Olga said Vladimir’s remains would be cremated in Malaysia before returning to Russia.
Box jellyfish, named after their box-shaped body, are known to actively move in the water unlike other jellyfish that drift with the current.
It has two-dozen eyes that seek small prey and has a highly venomous sting with some species capable of killing humans in just minutes.
The sting of these species causes excruciating pain and can debilitate its victims, causing them to drown.
The toxin of the deadly venom cripples the heart, nervous system and skin cells, and cause the body to release large amounts of potassium into the bloodstream.
If immediate medical attention is not rendered, victims could succumb to a cardiac arrest.
The box jellyfish is native to the Alantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. However, marine researchers have found an invasive species along the Straits of Malacca.
