Things that Bite in the Dark
As my left heel came down on the dark concrete, I felt something tubular and soft under the ball of my foot. My mind jumped to a conclusion. My eyes shot down and in the dark I saw his head turning left and moving toward the pressure on his body. I tried to shift my weight to my trailing right foot and hoped Julie was out of his reach. I was moving as fast as possible but he was moving faster. We were at a resort just north of Phoenix and were returning from the swimming pool so there was nothing between him and my bare leg.
The strike wasn’t painful. It felt like a bump and a small thorn. After I removed my foot from his tail we moved in opposite directions. He rattled and I said “sonofabitch! He got me.”
Because he wasn’t coiled and simply reacted to his pain, it was a glancing strike and one fang barely nicked the skin enough to break it. Interestingly, I have small red marks the size and shape of the right side of his mouth.
I knew that 25 to 30 percent of bites by venomous snakes do not result in venom injection. I knew that only 6 to 8 people die each year in the US even though about 8,000 people are bitten. I approach the world rationally and like new experiences so I had an adrenaline rush void of fear.
We got directions to the nearest hospital which was about 30 minutes away and arrived there about 9:15 PM. At about 5 AM this morning, I left after a tetanus shot, two blood samples and one IV removal.
The area around the bite feels a little warm and tingly but nothing serious. It appears I dropped into the 25 to 30 percent statistic.
Life continues to be good!
The strike wasn’t painful. It felt like a bump and a small thorn. After I removed my foot from his tail we moved in opposite directions. He rattled and I said “sonofabitch! He got me.”
Because he wasn’t coiled and simply reacted to his pain, it was a glancing strike and one fang barely nicked the skin enough to break it. Interestingly, I have small red marks the size and shape of the right side of his mouth.
I knew that 25 to 30 percent of bites by venomous snakes do not result in venom injection. I knew that only 6 to 8 people die each year in the US even though about 8,000 people are bitten. I approach the world rationally and like new experiences so I had an adrenaline rush void of fear.
We got directions to the nearest hospital which was about 30 minutes away and arrived there about 9:15 PM. At about 5 AM this morning, I left after a tetanus shot, two blood samples and one IV removal.
The area around the bite feels a little warm and tingly but nothing serious. It appears I dropped into the 25 to 30 percent statistic.
Life continues to be good!
posted by Paul at 9:37 PM
4 Comments:
Damn! Glad you are okay.
Is that why they say it is better to light a candle than curse in the dark? Or something like that.
Second Damn! We get pygmy rattlesnake bite victims in my unit all the time.
Well, guess you have another near miss to tell your great grandchildren about! I've been fortunate; the goats have left my property so desolate there's no place for a snake to hide...
Glad to hear it was not a very serious bite and you are ok now : )
Good Grief! After that I would walk with my head towards the ground at all times... ouch!
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