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KRIS (Corpus Christi, Texas) 18 April 06 Benavides woman gives birth after being bit by snake (Aaron Drawhorn)
Benavides: A new mother is recovering after she was bitten by a rattlesnake Sunday night. Melly Guerra is a high school coach in Benavides and was just days away from giving birth when she had the scare of her life.
"She knew immediately she had been bitten by a snake, and she ended up, I guess, the adrenaline took over at that time, and ran to her home to her husband. My dad went outside and found the snake. It was a small rattlesnake, and it was coiled up, ready to get the next person that came by," said Melly's sister Norma Escudero.
Shocked and terrified, Guerra was air-lifted to Corpus Christi. At the hospital she delivered a healthy bundle of joy by emergency c-section. Jenna Renee Guerra was 6 lbs., 12 oz. While the snake's poison didn't hurt the baby, mom's not out of the woods yet.
"We just wanted to let everyone know, who's been praying for her, that the baby is doing fine. My sister, Melly, is still ill. She's in intensive care. They're treating her for the snake bite." Once the anti-venom medication takes effect, Guerra and her husband J.R. will be back home caring for their new pride and joy.
The family said they have often spotted rattlesnakes in the Benavides area, but no one has ever been bitten. As for the snake, Guerra's 73-year-old father found it and killed it with a shovel.
Benavides woman gives birth after being bit by snake
