Wes note: Highlights are mine.

THE MERCURY (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 25 October 05 Snake-bite story told (Tracy Meadowcroft)
Lower Pottsgrove: A 14-year-old St. Pius X High School student bitten on the hand by a copperhead snake is recovering at home with doctors optimistic she won’t lose her arm.
Kaitlin Chrobocinski, a ninth-grader, was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon after she was treated for the bite to the middle finger of her right hand Friday at the school. Kaitlin said there had been a small possibility she would lose her arm because of the bite from the venomous snake.
Kaitlin, her parents, Walter and Dora, St. Pius Principal/President Rev. Joseph Bongard and Lower Pottsgrove police Detective Mike Foltz discussed the girl’s recovery at a press conference Monday afternoon outside the family’s Laurel Way home.
"I feel a lot better right now, but if people touch my arm, it hurts a lot," Kaitlin said, her right arm in a sling. Her middle finger was slightly discolored and the bite marks were still visible.
Though Friday was an in-service day at the school, Kaitlin and several other drama students gathered in the gymnasium, at which time a 17-year-old male student produced the snake, which appeared to be a baby, from a shoe box.
Police said the boy told them he found the snake on Oct. 15 in Valley Forge National Park.
Kaitlin said several students held the snake without any problem before she took it. Then as she held it, the snake bit her without any provocation, she said.
Foltz said he has been told this is the time of year copperhead snakes become dormant, and the snake may have been agitated by the conditions under which it was being handled.
Kaitlin said she started feeling dizzy and her hand began throbbing and swelling up after she was bitten. She said she threw the snake across the room after she was bitten.
"Someone said ‘Why did you throw the snake?’ and I said, ‘It bit me,’" Kaitlin explained.
Police said the snake, which the students thought was dead, was thrown out a back door of the school. Apparently, the snake was only stunned and was missing when the students went outside to look for it, according to police.
After the drama instructor was notified of the incident, she told Kaitlin to put ice on her finger and call her father. A friend’s father eventually took Kaitlin to Pottstown Memorial Medical Center, where officials, concerned about the severity of the situation, had her transferred to Hershey Medical Center.
At that time, officials believed there was a possibility Kaitlin could lose her arm, according to police.
About 45 minutes passed before Kaitlin made it to the hospital and officials said had another 30 minutes passed, Kaitlin might have died from the bite, police said.
"I thought they were goofing around and bothered a garter snake," Walter Chrobocinski said.
Police said a picture of the snake on the boy’s cell phone allowed them to identify it as a copperhead and treat Kaitlin accordingly.
"I feel sorry for them that this is happening," Kaitlin said of the boy’s family.
"I think it was just bad judgment," Walter Chrobocinski said. "I’m just glad she’s OK and she’s going to keep her arm."
Foltz said the case remains an open investigation and no charges have been filed at this time against the boy or drama instructor. Concerns have been raised, however, as to how the incident happened and the possible lack of action taken by the instructor.
"If I had charge of a child and it got a bee sting, I’d call 911," Walter Chrobocinski said.
In a press release, Bongard said an internal investigation is being conducted into the incident along with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Office of Catholic Education.
"The safety and welfare of our students are always of prime concern," he said.
As an additional safety measure, Bongard said in the release that an animal removal company came to the school to conduct a search but was unable to locate the snake.
"This is definitely one for the books," Bongard said.
Kaitlin said she has several doctors’ appointments in the upcoming days and her family expects it will be about two weeks until the full extent of her injury is known.
"I do want to come back to school," Kaitlin said, unsure of when she will return to classes. "I want to see all my friends."
Her father said Kaitlin rides horses and plays the drums. He said he hopes any tissue or nerve damage because of the bite will not prevent her from continuing those activities.
Now that his daughter is out of the hospital, Walter Chrobocinski said he is "relieved (and) cautiously optimistic that she will recover."
He said Bongard has handled the situation very well and acknowledged "he can’t be there all the time."
Police said the boy and St. Pius X officials have been very cooperative during the investigation.


Snake-bite story told

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