Alabama youth recovering from snakebite
Posted by Chad_Minter on September 03 2005 19:20:32
Little did Barrett Gilbert, 16, know that a week before beginning his junior year at Clements High School he would experience such a horrific event... Click "Read More" for details...
Extended News
tashia@athensnews-courier.com
Little did Barrett Gilbert, 16, know that a week before beginning his junior year at Clements High School he would experience such a horrific event.
While walking in a field in the Tanner area on Aug.1, Gilbert, the son of Grant and Mitzi Gilbert, was bitten by what he said was a copperhead mocassin.
"I had on flip-flops," Gilbert said of his foot attire that day.
He usually wears boots when out in the field but didn't have them on that day.
"We never noticed it until it bit me," Gilbert said.
He and his friend Ryan Griffin, 16, were walking back to the vehicle when the snake attacked Gilbert's right foot.
Gilbert said he only got a glance, but was certain it was a copperhead.
"It was the biggest copperhead I've ever seen," Gilbert said.
He said it was three or four feet long.
He said when it happened he was a little scared but was also trying to figure out what to do.
He knew it was dangerous to panic and he said that he didn't have anything to tie his leg with so he held his hands tight around his ankle to help prevent the venom from spreading.
By the time he and his friend made it to the truck they had about a 10-minute drive to the hospital.
Gilbert wasn't sure who called for the ambulance, but an ambulance met the boys at Athens High School and Gilbert was transported to Athens-Limestone Hospital where he spent four days.
Gilbert said he blacked out in the truck ride to meet the ambulance but had awakened by the time they made it to the high school.
Gilbert recalled being given an IV and being hooked up to monitors in the ambulance and was asked about the kind of snake that bit him.
After arriving at the hospital Gilbert said he was hooked up to heart and blood pressure monitors and was also given an antibiotic.
He said the pain was severe and it felt like his leg had been ran over by a car.
He said he experienced vomiting and high blood pressure after being bit by the snake and his leg felt hot.
Now Gilbert is home but life has changed, at least temporarily, for the 16-year-old. He uses crutches or a wheelchair to get around, which has made it difficult to maneuver around campus, he said.
He said his foot is still tender and remains a little swollen but a full recovery is expected.
He continues to take an antibiotic for the bite and has learned a lesson from the event: Always wear snake boots when going somewhere snakes are likely to be.