on being bit by a snake

The reason I've been AWOL this week is that Monday evening I got nailed by a copperhead out in the yard. Here's the rather long story.

A few days ago,  I was browsing someone's blog and saw pictures of amaryllis in bloom and remembered that mine had not, so far, bloomed.  I had delayed getting them in the ground last year after I dug them up from the city house last spring and what with the drought and all I wondered if they would bloom so I went out into the yard to check on them.  I had planted them in several locations to see where they might do best.

After checking on the ones I had planted near the new shop, which to my delight had bloom stalks just beginning to emerge, I walked to the back edge of the property where it adjoins the 13 Acre Field to admire the poppies and then over to the bed I put in of rocket larkspur around the peach tree that has reverted to its wild cousin root stock that grows next to the old shed at the back corner where the Wild Space begins, the 30' foot wide or so area of trash trees, underbrush, honeysuckle, trumpet flower and wild grape vines, and poison ivy that separates my neighbor's property from the field.

I was barefoot as is my wont and totally unconcerned as I walk around there quite often and Marc had just mowed the previous day, not that the growth had been high as it was mostly dead thatch back there.  I stepped about a foot away from the edge of the bed, my eye on the amaryllis there at the base of the peach tree when I felt this sudden intense burning stab of pain on my right foot.  

I think I shouted something like, 'Ow!  What the fuck was that!', thinking I must have brushed up against a nettle or something.  Or something.  Why I thought of nettle first thing is beyond me because I know there is none growing there, but that's what first popped into my head.

I had stepped back when I felt the pain and looked down and saw the snake coiled up in a series of compact S's making about a 6" diameter circle before my mind really processed what I was seeing.  I bent over and picked up a stick and poked the brown and tan bundle and it wasn't until then that my brain yelled 'snake!'.  And then, 'copperhead'.  At that point fear and panic took over and with my foot on fire I ran/limped back to the house and as soon as I hit the garage door I started yelling for Marc, 'I've been bit by a copperhead!'

I was hyperventilating by then but Marc got me to calm down somewhat.  My foot still looked unmarked and I could not even see any puncture marks but within a couple of minutes a lump about the size of a half dollar raised up and two little droplets of blood oozed out. 

So being a pair of modern living folks, the first thing we did was google copperheads to see what should be done. It was good news and bad news.  The good news was that copperhead bites are rarely fatal and then only in the very young and the very old or if there is a serious allergic reaction to the venom.  The bad news was that all the sites said it would take about 10 days to recover and to seek medical attention anyway.

Since I wasn't absolutely certain that it was a copperhead, as the common rat snake in these parts look just like a copperhead, and I hadn't had the presence of mind to look at its pupil whereby I could have definitely identified it and I didn't want to go to the emergency room if I didn't have to being uninsured as we are and the Internet said that snakes usually stay within 20 ' of where the bite takes place, I got it in my head that we should go back out there and try and find it.

So, armed with a one gallon bucket (me) and the heavy rake (Marc) don't ask, I have no idea what we thought we were going to do with a bucket and a heavy rake we headed back out into the yard.  My foot was still on fire and the pain was spreading and getting more intense but I could still walk though I was limping heavily.

Of course, there was no sign of the snake by the time we got out there and we really didn't feel like poking around in the nearby concealing underbrush so we gave it up and headed back to the house.  Only by now the pain was so bad I couldn't walk on that foot at all and Marc had to carry me piggy back to the house which was a hilarious sight all in its own as I was barely hanging on by the time we got there.

I was still dithering about going to the hospital even though my foot was becoming swollen and discolored.  Marc helped me into the bathroom so I could wash off the wound and put antibiotic ointment on it and then he made the decision so while he was getting keys and stuff, I crawled to the garage door and then hopped on one foot to the truck after making my two word post on FB.

Since there was nowhere to park at the emergency room door, Marc dropped me off so he could park.  As I was hopping to the entrance, someone inside saw me and rushed out and helped me inside.  No sooner had I sat down in the small waiting area than they had a wheelchair and were wheeling me back to a room where they examined me, drew blood, gave me an IV and started a fluid drip.  About that time I started having shivering episodes and my whole body was tensed.

By now the fiery pain was no longer centered on the bite and was being replaced by a deep throbbing with the burning moving with the swelling and my whole foot was hot to the touch.  The swelling had not even taking over my whole foot yet as my inside ankle was still clearly defined.  The doctor drew the outlines of of the swelling on my foot and ankle to help monitor it's progression, sort of like pushing a stick in the riverbank to see if the water was rising and how fast.

Then there was nothing to do but wait.  For 6 hours.  Flat on my back.  They'd come in and take my vitals now and then but mostly we passed the time with our books which Marc had gone back to fetch.  After an hour or so I asked for some pain medication which didn't do a damn thing for the pain in my foot but did allow me to relax and it stopped the shivering.

About 4 hours after the first blood draw, they came in to do another.  By that time the swelling had traveled about half way up my calf.  The doctor came in and checked my progress and told me that depending on the results of this second blood test one of three things would happen.  They would send me home or they would administer anti-venom and put me in intensive care or they would send me immediately to a bigger and better facility.

As it happened, my blood test showed no damage so they sent me home.  The swelling would continue to increase, he said, and I should be on the lookout for loss of circulation to my foot if the swelling got too bad but that everything looked good, I was to continue to stay flat on my back for a few days and it would take about two weeks to completely heal.

So here I am, camped out on the couch.  By Tuesday morning the swelling had advanced to just below my knee and by Tuesday night it had reached all the way up my leg to my crotch.  Yesterday (that would be Tuesday) I pretty much stayed doped up on pain pills and dozed off and on throughout the day.  Today (Wednesday) I'm feeling better.  The swelling had maxed out and this morning it had started to diminish.  I still can't walk but I can at least get to the bathroom by myself now by scooting along on the floor.

It is still painful, a deep throbbing ache, especially if I try to lower my leg like I might try to stand up and my skin is extremely sensitive to touch so I'm still taking the pain pills but I hope that will be better by tomorrow as the swelling continues to decrease.

Marc has been wonderful, attending to my needs, bringing me food and drinks, fetching me what ever I ask for, getting me to the bathroom and back on the rolling office chair.

Emma, the cat, has also been very attentive, camped out in the rolling chair beside me since I got home Monday night, not leaving my side except to eat and go out briefly to take care of her business and then returning immediately.  She's even climbed up in my lap a few times.  Very unusual behavior for a cat who's idea of affection is sitting in the same room as you.

next:  what I learned about copperheads