I got bit by a rattlesnake!

I got bit by a rattlesnake!

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The reason I’m writing this is because never in a million years did I think I would or could get bit by a rattlesnake, especially the way I got bit. I want people to be educated on what to do if you ever get bit, and what the aftercare looks like to begin healing.

I live in a suburban neighborhood in Southern California.  My house is in some hills, but my home is not up against the open hills, I live a couple streets away from them.

I have lived in my house for 27 years and never have I ever seen a rattlesnake in my yard. My dog is very curious, and I would think that if we ever had a rattlesnake, he would have been bitten because he is always bringing me dead birds and lizards.

My story

Last Saturday night I was enjoying an evening sitting out by the pool with my husband and my son who was visiting from Northern California, his first stop on a 3 week road trip. I got up to go inside at 11:00 to take a shower after a wonderful day visiting. There was nothing out of the ordinary that happened in the moments leading up to it.

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As I was walking back into the house through my sliding back door, like I have a million times before, I felt what I thought was a bee or wasp sting on my foot. This happened in a split second, but I never imagined it would be a rattlesnake bite. My body jumped back immediately and that’s when I saw the rattlesnake coiled up on the mat in front of the door.  I never heard a rattle or saw him. I screamed to my husband and son that I had just been bit by a snake. They both jumped out the jacuzzi and immediately came running towards me. 

I had no idea what to do! I knew nothing about rattlesnakes or what to do if I ever encountered one. I’ve never even seen one up close. I knew they were out in fields and hills and even on trails where I hike, but never had I encountered one.

My husband immediately told me to get back and he killed the rattlesnake.  He had just jumped out of the jacuzzi with a bathing suit and no shoes. The rattlesnake was trying to bite him, but he smashed him with a small decorative trash can next to the sliding door. From the time the snake bit me to the time the rattler was dead was probably less than a minute. No, my husband never thought for a moment to let him escape or try and catch and release him. He immediately went into protector mode and killed what had just hurt his wife. 

Staying calm

As soon as the rattlesnake was dead, my husband pushed him over out of the way to get me back in the house to assess the damage on my foot.  They brought me inside and put me on the recliner. As he was assessing it, my son called 911. They were asking all sorts of questions to my son, giving him instructions, while I was trying to stay calm.  I had a very hard time trying to do that. 

My son held my hands and told me to look into his eyes and breathe slowly. My breathing was becoming erratic. He knew he had to keep me calm. It’s not good to have an increased heart rate because an increased heart rate can spread the venom faster. However, it was nearly impossible to stay calm when I thought I was going to die or lose my leg. I was truly petrified. I asked my son if I was going to die. He told me I wasn’t going to die. I then asked him if I was going to lose my leg/foot. He responded that I wasn’t going to lose my leg/foot. However, looking into his eyes, I saw the fear in them. I’m positive I was in shock and my body started shaking uncontrollably.

After a few minutes I started feeling the venom move through my foot. My foot was burning and there was a sharp stabbing pain working its way from my big toe towards my baby toe. I was bit on the side of my foot and under my big toe. (Metatarsophalangeal joint) From the time I got bit to the time the ambulance arrived was about 12 minutes.

The ambulance ride

The EMT’s brought in the stretcher and my son helped me get up on it. They put me in the ambulance and immediately started an IV and Fentanyl for pain. On the way to the hospital I remember talking to the EMT and I was asking him if I was going to be ok.  He responded ” I’m technically not supposed to comment on that, but I think you are going to be fine.” He then said, “I’m going to be totally honest with you, you are my first snake bite victim”. Not exactly what I wanted to hear.

I thought maybe that ambulances carried anti-venom, but I learned very quickly that they don’t. The ride to the hospital seemed like forever. It was about a 30-minute drive from my house. They originally were going to take me to the closest hospital, but after the EMT called to verify that, they said the closest didn’t have anti-venom and to take me to Loma Linda University Hospital.  I was happy to hear this because I knew that this hospital was well known for taking care of snake bite victims. I used to watch a show called Venom ER that took place at Loma Linda University Hospital about people getting bit by snakes. You would have thought that every hospital had to carry anti-venom, but they don’t.

The Hospital

After arriving at the hospital, as I was being taken out of the ambulance, the nurses were asking me questions like, what day is it, who is the president, etc. to see if I was conscious. I was clear and coherent, but shaking uncontrollably, probably from the shock. They whisked me into a room where the nurses took over and continued my care.  I was put in a room in the ER, and I stayed in the ER for my entire visit. Apparently with snake bites, you are continuously being monitored by the staff. The hospital staff of nurses and doctors came in constantly asking questions and seeing to my care.

As soon as the nurses started taking over, I began asking for anti-venom. I continued asking for it every time someone walked into the room. There apparently is a protocol to get the anti-venom. They first have to see if your bite is venomous. Then they have to get the order from a doctor, then send the order to the pharmacy to have the pharmacist mix it.  However, at the same time I was admitted, they were inundated with accident victims. (It was in the middle of the night), so nurses were in short supply for a while. The pharmacist was also busy with a patient across the hall who was dying.

I remember them telling me that there were other emergencies going on and I replied, “I’m an emergency!”  I also remember another nurse telling me they were working based on priority. What? I said, “I’m a priority!” They replied, “you absolutely are, and we are working as quickly as possible.” (I apologized to all the nurses later for being snappy!) What had me so upset is that during this time my body was shaking uncontrollably, I was hyperventilating, and my muscles were twitching (fasciculation) all over my body, including my face. My entire body felt like pins and needles. It was highly sensitive.

The Anti-Venom

When I finally started receiving the anti-venom it was about 2 hours from the time I was bitten. Which according to articles that I have read, is an appropriate amount of time.

After they started the anti-venom, I continued to shake uncontrollably for some time. My body was rigid. My hands curled up and felt like my fingers were burning. I remember my fingertips felt like they were on fire. My husband tried to hold my hands a few times and I asked him not to because they hurt so bad.  I had pain throughout my feet and legs even with the pain medication. It took several hours of my body being rigid as well as my teeth chattering for me to start to relax.  I suppose the medication was starting to work.

I remember my hands going through several weird sensations. They were rigid, curled, cramping and at one point they felt like they had been underwater for hours. I couldn’t stand for my fingers to touch, I kept my fingers spread.

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My feet felt like they were waving as the venom pulsed through them. At other times I felt like my foot was being stabbed repeatedly. At other times, they felt like they were flattening and melting down. During the entire experience they were also twitching. Obviously, my left foot felt the brunt of the pain, it was the one that was bitten.

To measure the effects of the venom, they were marking my leg every hour to see how quickly the venom was moving. They pressed on my leg to see where it started hurting to see where it had moved. It moved very quickly for the first few hours and then after about 12 hours it started slowing down. I suppose the anti-venom was doing its job.

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The pain and tenderness went as far up as the top of my thigh. The doctor told me pain and swelling would go up the entire left side of my body and then go back down.  Interestingly, she said it wouldn’t affect my right side. I consider myself lucky because it never went up my torso or arm. However, I did have numbness in my lips and tongue. Even my eyelids felt the pins and needles feeling. To be clear, my entire body was very uncomfortable for quite some time.

Important Note

Another important bit of information here is that anti-venom does not take away the damage that has been done. Antivenoms bind to and neutralize the venom, halting further damage, but does not reverse the damage that has already occurred. It neutralizes the toxins but doesn’t make the pain or swelling go away. I thought that as soon as I got the anti-venom, that everything would reverse, and I would get up and walk out of the hospital like nothing happened. Boy was I wrong! This seems to be a common misconception among most people I have spoken with.

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I was administered a few different pain meds. The ones I remember are Fentanyl, Morphine, and Dilaudid. I received 3 bags of IV and 3 bags of anti-venom mixed with normal saline (0.9% sodium chloride) . I researched online; “what is a typical treatment dose for a rattlesnake bite?” It came up 4-6 vials. I was given a total of 22 vials.

It’s interesting how antivenom is made. It’s made by collecting venom from a rattlesnake (Their fangs are milked) and injecting small amounts of it into a domestic animal, like a horse or sheep. The antibodies that form are then collected from the domestic animal’s blood and purified. Please read https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/animals-ecology/antivenom-made-precious/ for a more detailed explanation of how antivenom is made. It’s very complicated and fascinating.  

What bit me

The snake that bit me was identified as a Red Diamondback Rattlesnake by Alex Trejo at So Cal Rattlesnakes.socalrattlesnakeremoval.com

A Red Diamondback is a venomous pit viper species found in southwestern California and Baja California in Mexico. I read that a single bite of a fully-grown Red Diamondback rattlesnake can inject enough venom to potentially kill 3 adults. Yikes! I was bit by an adolescent snake, but I was bitten more than once. I also read that the Red Diamondback rattlesnake’s venom is less toxic than that of other rattlers, according to the US Geological Surveys Southwest Biological Science Center.  However, I’ve also read conflicting articles on if adolescents or adults inject more venom. What I do know is that any rattlesnake bite can be deadly if you don’t get help, and get it soon.

Alex came by the other day to inspect my yard for other snakes and offer help in preventing future snakes in my yard. He was very informative, and I appreciate his expertise on everything about snakes. He found no other snakes or any other signs indicating there were any more snakes in or around my yard.

Something interesting he told me is that the Red Diamondback is the snake that lives in this general area. He said that these snakes never go beyond a couple miles of where they were born/hatched and where their dens are.  Southern California is filled with rattlesnakes. However, they don’t usually go after people. The snake didn’t go after me per-say, he saw me, a big red aura, coming towards him and he thought I was trying to kill him. He just reacted like any snake would.

Although rattlesnakes primarily have hemotoxins as their venom, they also have neurotoxins, and others in lesser quantities. So, hemotoxins attack the blood and the neurotoxins attack the nervous system. Together, they destroy tissue and break down the proteins that allow your blood to clot. Both the tissue damage and the bleeding contribute to swelling.

I’m really not sure how many bites I received. I thought two, but the holes are a little confusing. No one in the hospital that I spoke to had ever seen multiple bites. Not that it hasn’t happened, just that no one had any experience with it yet, I should say.

While going through this ordeal, my blood platelets and clotting properties were being destroyed. My numbers were going down, and the goal was to get them to go back up.  There were two blood tests the doctors were most concerned with; Platelets and Fibrinogen. It takes a while to see improvement after the anti-venom is administered.

I was in the hospital for about 40 hours. They released me when my blood test numbers started to improve above a certain threshold.

Going Home

As I was being discharged from the hospital, the nurse was trying to stand me up to put me in the wheelchair. This is the exact moment I realized that my left leg and foot were in bad shape. Since I had been laying for almost 2 days, I had no idea what to expect. As I tried to put my foot down, it was abundantly clear that the pain going down my leg was excruciating. I could not stand up. I asked if she could get a wheelchair that kept my leg outstretched. She did, and we managed to get me in the wheelchair as well as out to the car.

They placed me in the back seat with my leg up on the center console between the two front seats.  The ride home was good, and then when I got home, we had a little dilemma on how to get me in the house. We decided to get my office chair and wheel me in with my leg outstretched. It worked!  I immediately went to the recliner, reclined, and this is where I spent most of my time after getting home.

Home Rehab

My days at home started with day 3. Since I have been home it’s been hard rehabilitating.  My foot was so swollen on the pad on my foot, that my toes didn’t hit the floor. My husband said it looked like a potato with toes! I have stayed in a recliner with my leg elevated the entire time. Every time I got up, the blood would rush to my foot and calf and hurt so bad. If I stayed reclined, the pain was bearable.  I took pain pills but have really tried to not overdo it on them. I only took them if I needed them, and only needed them for several days.

There was a little emotional breakdown on day 6. I cried and cried and couldn’t understand why this happened to me. I wanted to make the pain stop but it had to run its course. Until day 11, I had not been able to put my foot down without severe pain. Day 11, I could finally put my heel down and walk a short distance around the house. Yay! Progress!

Something funny to note here is that while I was in the hospital, Dr. Lo, Toxicologist, who is the snake expert doctor, was telling me what things I might expect for the next several days.  I asked her if she thought I would be able to go back to work that week or possibly the next week. She laughed a little.  She said to expect a 3-6-week recovery period.  3 weeks for the 1st bite and possibly 3 more for the second bite. I’m optimistic and hope it’s only 3.

I went into the hospital on a Saturday night and was released 2 days later on a Monday afternoon. Since I’ve been released, I have had to go back every 3 days for blood draws. 12 days after the initial bite, my fibrinogen and blood platelets were finally back in the normal range.

My rescuers

I can honestly tell you that my husband was amazing. He stayed by my side almost every moment for the first 8 days. I call him my pack mule.  When I would crawl up the stairs at night to go to bed, he would carry everything I needed up behind me. (We joked that I looked like the girl, Samara from the movie “The Ring”) Then in the morning he would carry everything back down as I would scoot on my butt down the stairs. He is truly my hero in all this. He was my Knight in Shining Armor. 

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My son was also exceptional. He kept me calm and has continued to check in with me. He was scheduled to leave for the rest of his road trip that Monday following my bite, but stayed and helped until Friday. The first night he spent sitting on the curb outside the ER. The second night he slept in his car in the parking structure. I think I might have scared him a little.  He bought some snake boots before he left. He still wants to hike on his vacation, but he understands clearly the dangers of getting bit now. It is rattlesnake season for goodness sake!

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My daughter also came to the hospital to be with me. She took over so the boys could go home, get a little rest and take a shower. She sat with me while I went in and out from the pain meds. I would be talking to her and then fall asleep for a few minutes and then wake back up and start talking without missing a beat! It’s weird how that stuff works!

My family and friends were truly amazing through all of this. I received so many well wishes, visitors, prayers, and flowers. It was overwhelming! My sister and best friend came to stay with me also, so that I wouldn’t be alone when my husband had to go to work. Thank you!

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I now belong to an elite club.  The “I’ve been bit by a rattlesnake club”. Not many people can say that! Not that I ever wanted to be in this club, but I am now, and hopefully I can help others to avoid it. You do NOT want to ever go through this!

Here is a picture at day 3, 5 and 14 after the bite. You can see that the left foot is still slightly swollen and its still bruised and purple. However, it is getting better, and that’s good news.

My advice

I have some simple advice for you, coming from an actual bite victim.

Always have lights on outside at night. I will use my l phone light whenever I am walking outside at night from now on.

Always look down at your surroundings. I never expected a snake on the doormat in my backyard. But it happened to me, it could happen to anyone.

If you encounter a rattlesnake or any snake, back away. They are more afraid of you than you are of them. (not really, I’m scared to death of them) And they can kill you.

Best tips

If you are ever bit by a rattlesnake, these are my best tips:

Get away from the rattlesnake quickly – they can re-bite you. If you can, you or have someone else take a picture of it, that is very helpful, but take it from afar with a zoom lens. The EMT took a picture of mine, but that’s because he was dead and didn’t get away.

Call 911 immediately!

Lightly wrap above the wound with a roller bandage if you have one. It might be a good idea to start carrying one in your backpack if you’re hiking.  NOT a tourniquet!!

Stay calm – slow your breathing to a meditative pace. In and out slowly.

Don’t move – stay still until help arrives.

Keep the bite below the heart.

Something else I think is very important. Wherever you live, or wherever you are hiking, try and make sure that you know where the closest hospital is that stocks anti-venom.  This could save your life.

After Discharge

I did not get much direction on the after care at discharge. I think they forgot to give me that paperwork. After trial and error, I would suggest the following:

Rest – You need to be patient. The damage that is being done to your body is both physical and emotional. I absolutely have some anxiety I’m dealing with now. I have stayed on the couch with my leg elevated most of the time, except when I go to the hospital for my blood draws, or the restroom. I’ve used ice packs for swelling, and I’ve soaked in a warm tub while moving my foot gently to help with flexibility.

-Eat Healthy foods to help boost the immune system – I think since the rattlesnake destroyed so much tissue, I needed to eat super healthy to improve my length of recuperation. Protein, and extra vitamin C for sure! Feed your cells. Nutrition is always key. Also, drink plenty of fluids.

-Don’t give yourself any goals. Healing is absolutely at the mercy of how your body’s antibodies fight back. I thought I was going to be fine in a few days. I absolutely wasn’t. Its okay, don’t try to hurry the convalescent time.

-Go to follow up appointments – This is very important. You want to make sure you are healing properly. 

I know this blog is not like my normal posts on menopause and the issues with menopause, however, I think its very important, and hope you learned something from it. I also think its been therapeutic for me to write.

Be Kind,

Indiana Diana (my husbands new name for me!)

Update:

1/13/2022 – It’s been just over 6 months since my rattlesnake bite. For the most part my foot is healed. If I had to qualify it, I would say about 93% better. I do, however, have some residual pain throughout my foot. The majority of the pain still radiates around the bite location, on the metatarsal joint and between my big toe and my second toe. I also feel occasional pain on the pad on the bottom of my foot. I would assume that the pain occurs at these locations because, the most damage was done at where the envenomation took place. There might still be some nerve damage.

I recently started having pain in the heel area, but I went to a Podiatrist and he thinks that its unrelated. Time will tell.

The color in my foot and leg and is getting much better. I suppose its because the tissue is finally regenerating. I can’t believe it takes so long. I can still see a slight purple hue, however, no one else can notice it unless I point it out to them.