- Jul 1, 2009
- 715
- 18
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I'm usually in the duck forums and don't know many elsewhere.... but thought I'd tell ya about my Mother's day....
Long story as short as possible (HA!).... We live in St. Mary's County Maryland on the Western Shore of The Chesapeake bay. My 12 year old was at a friend's house in St. Mary's City, Maryland on Sunday and was bitten by a baby copperhead on the side of her left index finger. The snake was so young it still has the green tip on it's tail. (I know because she has the dead snake in a sealed bag and wants to keep it. *ick*) It's about 6 inches long. It was hidden in some leaves in the garden where she'd run to pet their cat. She placed the hand that wasn't petting the cat on the ground and BAM. It bit her. Real good.
We were flown to Georgetown Uiveristy Hospital In Washington D.C. and in the PICU until they released her YESTERDAY. She had 6 IV bags of Crofab Antivenin on Sunday. ( thats 24 vials!!) The finger is UGLY. There's a big black ugly boil like blister at the bite site (they poked a hole in this with a small needle and drained it but it filled back up and they left it) The hand is swollen huge (the swelling went down some but very little) and there's mild swelling all the way up the entire arm to the arm pit. It was very painful and they had her on morphine until they suddenly stepped her down to codeine before release... (which is working ok and I'm way more comfortable with that than the morphine.) The finger is wrapped and the hand is immobilized on an arm board thing.
I wasn't sure they should release her. But they insisted it was ok. And they didn't just release her, they told her she can go to school today and even to her field trip to the zoo In Washington DC ( 2 and 1/2 hours away) tomorrow. They assured me that she IS going to be fine. They want her to move the finger a lot. Keep it elevated when she sleeps and rests. They say the swelling will go down slowly. And just to watch that it doesn't get worse. She's been a freakin' SUPERSTAR through this whole ordeal. She never shut up, never got sick and was the star of the PICU. Even through all the pain she was awesome and handled it better than I did.. And she WANTS to go to school etc. Tells me to listen to the doctors because they're the doctors and to quit worrying so much.
. (as if) I don't know anything about venomous snake bites, but according to her ( and the docs) she's fine, but I think it's still really bad and swollen and ugly and has GOT to be painful. The fact that there's swelling to the arm pit freaks me out a little too. She says she feels fine except for a little pain and she can handle it. A superstar I tell you!!!
This was an experience I hope I never have to repeat! She's raring to go. I, on the other hand am physically and mentally exhausted.
Here's a pic or 2 of the bite. It doesn't do the hand justice...you really cant see the amount of swelling. The black lines are where they were measuring the swelling. And the snake too.. looks bigger in the pic but remember its in a ziplock bag.
Long story as short as possible (HA!).... We live in St. Mary's County Maryland on the Western Shore of The Chesapeake bay. My 12 year old was at a friend's house in St. Mary's City, Maryland on Sunday and was bitten by a baby copperhead on the side of her left index finger. The snake was so young it still has the green tip on it's tail. (I know because she has the dead snake in a sealed bag and wants to keep it. *ick*) It's about 6 inches long. It was hidden in some leaves in the garden where she'd run to pet their cat. She placed the hand that wasn't petting the cat on the ground and BAM. It bit her. Real good.
We were flown to Georgetown Uiveristy Hospital In Washington D.C. and in the PICU until they released her YESTERDAY. She had 6 IV bags of Crofab Antivenin on Sunday. ( thats 24 vials!!) The finger is UGLY. There's a big black ugly boil like blister at the bite site (they poked a hole in this with a small needle and drained it but it filled back up and they left it) The hand is swollen huge (the swelling went down some but very little) and there's mild swelling all the way up the entire arm to the arm pit. It was very painful and they had her on morphine until they suddenly stepped her down to codeine before release... (which is working ok and I'm way more comfortable with that than the morphine.) The finger is wrapped and the hand is immobilized on an arm board thing.
I wasn't sure they should release her. But they insisted it was ok. And they didn't just release her, they told her she can go to school today and even to her field trip to the zoo In Washington DC ( 2 and 1/2 hours away) tomorrow. They assured me that she IS going to be fine. They want her to move the finger a lot. Keep it elevated when she sleeps and rests. They say the swelling will go down slowly. And just to watch that it doesn't get worse. She's been a freakin' SUPERSTAR through this whole ordeal. She never shut up, never got sick and was the star of the PICU. Even through all the pain she was awesome and handled it better than I did.. And she WANTS to go to school etc. Tells me to listen to the doctors because they're the doctors and to quit worrying so much.
This was an experience I hope I never have to repeat! She's raring to go. I, on the other hand am physically and mentally exhausted.
Here's a pic or 2 of the bite. It doesn't do the hand justice...you really cant see the amount of swelling. The black lines are where they were measuring the swelling. And the snake too.. looks bigger in the pic but remember its in a ziplock bag.
)
