Jellyfish Man: Ian McCormack

Ian McCormack is a New Zealander who regularly dove into the ocean off the small island of Mauritius to hunt for lobsters. One night, as he was looking for lobsters, he was stung in the arm 5 times by box jellyfish. Box jellyfish or Chironex fleckeri, are amongst the deadliest jelly fish in the world and inhabit the oceans around Australia and New Zealand. Their venom is so deadly, that it causes human death in less than a couple of minutes. In fact, a box jellyfish sting can be so powerful it can kill over 60 humans in a span of only 3 minutes! After being stung five times by this deadly creature Ian McCormick was facing certain death. However, that was not meant to be, and Ian McCormick not only survived the venomous sting of the box jellyfish, but returned to life with a fascinating experience of Hell, Heaven and God Himself. Here is his experience in brief and the reason he is called the 'Jellyfish Man':

As Ian McCormick was swimming underwater, he felt something smash into his arms and like thousands of bolts of electricity passing through his body. His arm was swollen to double its size and he had blisters similar to burns where the tentacles of the jellyfish had stung him. He could even feel the toxin quickly spread through his body and he felt himself weakening. He dragged himself out of the water and tried looking for help. He hailed a taxi, but the taxi driver dropped him off outside a hotel instead of taking him straight to the hospital, thinking of him as a bad fare. Under any other circumstances, a person stung by a jellyfish would never have made it this far and would have succumbed to death a while ago.

By this time, Ian McCormick was experiencing what is called death rattles in common terms when the body seems to go into continuous spasm and is a common symptom in the case of box jellyfish stings. An ambulance was called by a hotel security guard and Ian was being transported to the hospital. While he was in the ambulance, Ian heard his mother's voice urging him to accept Jesus into his heart and ask for his forgiveness. So far, Ian McCormick was a self-proclaimed hedonist and atheist. And he was certain that given the kind of immoral life he has led, it was unlikely that even if there was God, he would be accepted in His fold. However, he went through the entire Lord's Prayer in his head. He also felt that he was hearing God's voice to keep his eyes open throughout the journey in the ambulance.

When he arrived at the hospital, many attempts were made to resuscitate him. He was injected with anti-toxins and dextrose in an attempt to save his life, but he was soon pronounced dead. Fifteen minutes later, Ian McCormick not only got up from the dead, but was completely healed in a sgort span of time and was discharged the very next day. In the interval, Ian visited Hell, Heaven and was returned to earth by the mercy of God. He is a born-again Christian now.

Learn more about Jellyfish Stings and Jellyfish Safety

Learn more about Jellyfish, different Jellyfish Species, general Jellyfish Information, Jellyfish Pets and Jellyfish Safety

Written by Nathan Dickerson and Sudarsana Sinha.