ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS (Denver, Colorado) 06 July 07 Jeffco golfer hospitalized after being bitten by rattlesnake

A 52-year-old golfer went into anaphylactic shock today after a rattlesnake bit him twice on the ankle at The Meadows Golf Course in Jefferson County.

The victim was flown by a Life Guard helicopter from the golf course to Littleton Adventist Hospital where a toxicologist was readily available to treat the patient, Micki Trost, West Metro Fire Rescue spokeswoman, said. The man’s condition appeared to be serious, the spokeswoman said. He was not identified.

Firefighters decided to have the helicopter land on the course because the hike to reach the victim was about a quarter of a mile each way. The course sits on either side of South Simms Street, between South Kipling Parkway and C-470, and north of West Ken Caryl Avenue.

Witnesses told authorities the victim was on the course’s sixth hole and off the green looking for his golf ball in ankle-deep grass, the spokeswoman said. As he searched for his ball the snake bit him. Snakes will attack if they feel they might be stepped on.

The victim then began suffering from an allergic reaction and falling into anaphylactic shock. The reaction, if not treated, could be fatal though deaths from rattlesnake venom have become increasingly rare.

West Metro Fire Rescue has responded to 10 rattlesnake bites in the plast two months in the Ken Caryl Ranch and Roxborough communities, Trost said. None of the attacks were fatal.

"They’re coming out there to sun themselves," Trost said of the rattlers. "We’re coming across them and thinking they won’t be in the middle of a golf course or in the middle of a subdivision. They’re out on the roads, in the golf course, on the rocks, and we’ve had several calls in the last two months of people coming across them."

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5619131,00.html



CBS 4 (Denver’ Colorado) 09 July 07 Snake Bite Victim Moves Out Of ICU - Ken Caryl Man Hospitalized With Another Victim (Terry Jessup)

Littleton, Colo: A man who was bitten by a rattlesnake on June 30 was moved out of the intensive care unit at a hospital in Littleton Sunday night after a week of treatment. Jeff Smith, 46 of Ken Caryl, has received 16 doses of anti-venom.

Smith was hiking on a trail near the Meadows Golf Course late last month when he was bitten without any audible warning. He was without a cell phone and hiked for half a mile to get help.

"I put my foot over a rock just walking along," Smith said. "I heard a rattle and saw a rattlesnake and jumped away. I looked down and my leg was already bleeding."

Smith stopped breathing just before rescue crews got him into ambulance. He was unconscious and on life support for 6 days.

"Within 5 minutes, I'd say my hands and feet were feeling tingly and numb," said Smith. "Within 20 minutes my chest was getting tight and heavy."

Smith said he had been on the trail hundreds of times before. He is grateful to a bicyclist and jogger who came to his aid after he was bitten.

"There was just a whole series of things that all played the right way for me to be alive today, and I'm really grateful," Smith said.

Smith, who is a married father with two children, said eventually, he hopes to resume hiking with a few changes in behavior, starting with always carrying a cell phone.

"I'm going to start doing the paved trails, because I think I'll be able to see the snakes a little easier on them," Smith said. "And then, eventually I'll hike that trail again."

Another man was being treated at the same hospital Monday after he was bitten by a rattlesnake at the Meadows Golf Course last Friday. Smith said he knows the man who is also recovering.

There have been at least 6 snake bites reported in Colorado since May.

CBS4 has previously reported that each anti-venom treatment costs about $10,000.

http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_190142824.html

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