Paperboy Note: There's a video press report also at http://nbc10.feedroom.com/iframeset.jsp?ord=70705



PENNLIVE.COM (Pennsylvania) 24 October 05 Teen back home, doing well after snake bite at school (Maryclaire Dale)

Philadelphia (AP): A teenager bitten by a poisonous snake at school responded well to an antivenin treatment and is expected to fully recover, police said Monday.

Kaitlin Chrobocinski, 14, was holding the copperhead when it bit her middle finger during a drama club gathering Friday in the school gym, a detective said.

Despite initial concerns about potential damage to her arm — police initially said she could lose it — Chrobocinski was released from a hospital Saturday. She has some swelling and pain in her arm, but is in good spirits, police said.

"She is at home recuperating and doing very well," Lower Pottsgrove Detective Michael Foltz said. "She feels bad that this whole thing had to happen."

He said at least two other students also handled the snake, which had been brought to St. Pius X High School in Pottstown by a 17-year-old male student who said he caught it in the Valley Forge area.

The snake was thrown outside afterward, and has not been found.

"My guess, with it being so cold down this way, that it's probably deep inside a hole somewhere warming up," Foltz said.

Authorities identified the snake from a photograph taken on a student's cell phone, which helped guide the treatment.

Chrobocinski was brought to the hospital by another student's parent. Doctors told police she could have died had the treatment been delayed longer. Police are investigating the school's response, Foltz said.

The school was closed for teacher development Friday, but the club was apparently meeting.

The high school reopened Monday after an animal-removal company searched the premises on Saturday, according to a statement issued by the Philadelphia archdiocese.

"When the administration learned that the student had been bitten we contacted police and asked for assistance," the Rev. Joseph Bongard, the school's principal, said in the statement.

Copperhead snake bites are not typically fatal, but can cause extensive injuries.
Teen back home, doing well after snake bite at school

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