Brendhan, Kathy,
About the snake, I did not bite it but I did take it to the hospital with me. I had always heard to take the snake with you for positive identification. Funny, no one told me to kill it first.
I had cleared some land for my house and was getting around to loading the fallen logs to haul them to the sawmill. My wife and 10 year old son were heading out to yard sales that morning. My son told me in a very casual voice told me "be careful dad I saw a copperhead on that log yesterday." I quickly dismissed his advise as teasing or perhaps he had spotted a wood lizard. I had all but one log loaded and was reaching underneath the log for the end of the logging chain when I felt a sting. My hands were covered with layers of grime so I could not see a wound. I figured it was a wasp or bumblebee or something. I continued to work and the pain began to shoot up my arm. My skin was turning black and red and my hand was swelling. Suddenly I remembered a soft voice saying "Be careful dad I saw a copperhead yesterday on that log." I stooped down and looked undeneath and there was the biggest copperhead I had ever seen. I pinned him to the ground and grabbed his throat and said come on boy were going to he hospital. I put him in a trash bag and locked up the house and told myself to remain calm. I was hurting but staying calm and doing pretty good. That is until we hit the main road and got behind a funeral procession. I began to wonder if I should just go ahead and follow the hurse into the cemetary. In a few miles they turned off and we drove on in. I got to the hosptial and grabbed old coppertop by the throat and into the emergency room we went. Now I dont know if you have ever seen anyone walk into the emergency room carrying a copperhead, but you sure do stand out in a crowd. Some little black kids in the lobby took off running down the halls screaming. The admitting desk attendand asked me to put the snake in the trash can so I could fill out the paperwork. She said she would be right back. A few minutes later the doctors and a few nurses came bursting out of the ER and I was beginning to think I might just survive. Yeap the calvary had arrived just in time and would start life saving procedures on me right away. Wrong, they rushed past me and gathered around the trash can like they had never seen a snake in their life. Once the thrill seeking medical team got their fill of snake viewing they calmly walked right by me and back into the ER. One doctor asked why did you bring the snake to the emergency room? Always a wise guy I said "he hasn't been feeling well lately." The doctor just nodded and disappeared. After about an hour I finally saw a doctor, that is after I was weighed, my temperature taken, and the nurse asking me if my condition was a recurring medical issue or if it ran in my family. The doctor looked at my now black and swollen hand, arm, and sholder and said he would need to call a specialist at poision control. After several calls and several conferences over several hours they decided to "wait and see." Later I figured out that wait and see means I get off in and hour and the next doctor can figure this out. In the mean while they took a Sharpie marker and outlined the areas of swelling every 30 minutes and wrote the time on each ring. THe doctor said you are a healthy guy and we believe you can survive this with no treatment. No one told me there was only a few doses of antivenom in the state and it had to be administered early. Maybe "wait and see" really means lets wait and see if he dies. Finally they decided to admit me to the hospital for observation, but asked me to remove the snake from the trash can first. Several says later I looked like a zebra with rings all over my body and they said I could go home. The nurses were much amused and loved to color outside the lines. I was healthy and lucky to have survived dispite the medical care I received. I refused to allow my fingers to be amputated. Eventually a surgeon cut away the dead tissue and it healed reasonably well. The most lingering affect is the index finger between the tip and the first joint of my index finger. Oh yeah and I like to crawl out into the road at night and get warm. Oh and shed my skin each spring.
Now you know the story about how I became a Queen Killer. The most amazing thing is that it is all absolutely true. Truth is stranger than ficition and so is medical science.
Topic: Queen Killer At Large (Read 3008 times)