Seriously, Where Can I Rent a Mongoose?

Inhale deeply.  Enjoy the fresh air.  Nature in all of its glory…  ummm, what’s that creepy looking thing over there?

During the first week of staying in our new home, my oldest daughter ran in through the back door yelling “SNAKE!”  Of course, without asking if she’d been bitten, I yelled ” close the door behind you!!!”.  Don’t worry, she was just fine.  But how come no one closes the door behind them?  Especially when something undesirable can follow you in???  Anyway, little did I know that this was the beginning of a trend…

According to a local newspaper, a 2 year old in our neighborhood had been bitten by a baby rattlesnake that was hanging out under the family car in the garage.  He pointed to the rattlesnake when it struck him on the finger.   (Baby snakes are just as venomous as adults.)

Have you ever had to rush a friend or family member to the hospital?  Worse yet, have you had to call an ambulance for someone?  It’s a surreal and often frightening experience.  Now multiply that a few hundred times and imagine what it’s like to wait for the medivac helicopter to land outside your house to take your toddler to the hospital!

Within five minutes of the bite, fire rescue was at the door.  Due to heavy traffic, the rescue officials decided to airlift the child to the nearest pediatric hospital.  They made it within 45 minutes of the bite.  One thing that surprised me was that the anti venom wasn’t administered immediately after they arrived at the medical center.  Anti venom has to be mixed slowly from powder so the first dose was given about 2 hours and 15 minutes after the bite.  Six doses were administered in all.

From the finger where he was bitten to the top of his shoulder, the little boy’s arm looked like a swollen balloon and he could not bend his fingers (I also saw the story on the local news).  Thankfully he’s fine now.  Well, at least he’s got a great story for his grandkids.

The hospital reported that it averaged about 1 snakebite per week .  Yes, encouraging isn’t it?   Guess who is never going outside again?  That would be me.  Have you had any close encounters with the wild kind?