Ok,
Basically this is what happened. I was in the seventh grade.
Some people we knew caught what they thought was a hog nose snake. Put it in a fish bowl. Then let their daughter take it to kindergarden. The snake was there for a few days. You really could not see it. Lots of leaves, sticks, and stuff in the bowl.
The teacher knew I was interested in snakes. So, it was given to me. I was assured that it was a hog nose. I took it home. Pulled the snake out of the jar. It was about ten inches long. No visible rattles. Then I noticed the pits. To late. It hit me. Tip of my left index finger. Ok.
Killed the snake. Put it in a tupperware bowl. Mom grabbed the RN from next door and we all head off to the hospital. As you can image, I was triaged pretty quickly.
The snake is then positively identified as a pygmy rattlesnake. The search for the anti-venom begins. The local hospitals do not keep a supply. The ED docs finally found some. I get the anti-venom IV. I go off to a room as I am going to remain overnight.
That is when the intense pain began. Very hard to describe. I could not get anything for the pain. I was having difficulty breathing thus nothing that could potentially supress respiration. I remember waking up. Starting to cry and scream. I mean really scream. There was not a happy place that night. My Mom made me read Treasure Island. Then an RN waking into the room. She will forever have a halo. She gave me something that calmed me down and put me to sleep.
Next morning. My entire hand is a blood blister. My doc actually lanced the wound to relieve the pressure. My arm was swollen to the size of my leg. After three days, I was discharged.
That is the story. I am really glad that the snake did not strike one of the kindergarten class. That would have been really bad.
I now have a neat scar on my finger and an interesting story. I also give all snakes a wider path.
This the nurse
