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BEAUFORT GAZETTE (S Carolina) 23 November 07 Snake takes a bite out of family's finances (Dan Hilliard)
Elly Bachman's leg recovered quickly from a snakebite she got Memorial Day, but her parents feared they might end up sacrificing a few limbs of their own to deal with her medical bills.
Facing more than $91,000 for the antivenins and surgeries Elly, 3, received after she was bitten on the ankle by a copperhead at the Lady's Island Country Club golf course, Lady's Island residents Jennifer Bachman and her husband, Harry, turned to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for help.
On Oct. 30, the hospital wiped the Bachmans' $42,000 bill clean, said hospital spokeswoman Courtney McDermott.
Paying the remaining $49,000 will still be a struggle, however, Jennifer Bachman said.
"I'm obviously very, very grateful," she said. "It's a lot, obviously, but we're still $50,000 in the hole."
After an original diagnosis of a fractured ankle, Beaufort Memorial doctors recognized the three small nicks in Elly's ankle as a snakebite when her leg turned hard and purple to the knee, Bachman said.
She was insured at the time through Mid-west National Life Insurance Co. of Tennessee and paying a $420 premium per month for a family of six, Bachman said.
However, her coverage ceiling was lower than she expected, Bachman said. To date, the company has paid or discounted about $25,000 in hospital fees, she said.
"The insurance that we had was basically catastrophic insurance with much less coverage than we thought," she said. "The antivenins alone that Elly got at Beaufort Memorial were over $42,000. They didn't cover any of that."
Bachman's bill at Beaufort Memorial was chalked up to charity care, McDermott said.
"The hospital will work with any patient to set up a payment plan for outstanding bills," she said. "But the hospital will also encourage patients to apply for the hospital's financial assistance program, which can result in significantly decreased bills."
Bachman is seeking similar debt forgiveness from the Medical University of South Carolina Hospital and other centers that aided Elly with her snakebite, subsequent surgeries and rehabilitation.
"Regardless of whether our insurance pays for it, those services were provided," she said. "Those people saved Elly's life and her leg, so we'll pay it."
Antivenins, or the substances used to counteract snake venom, are expensive because of the complex physical and chemical process used to produce them, said Capt. Jeffrey Fobb of the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue's venom response unit.
Though many hospitals stock small amounts of antivenin, there is only one national producer - Protherics in Tennessee.
After milking the venom from poisonous snakes, snake handlers dilute the venom and inject it into healthy sheep. Over time, the sheep develop an immunity to the venom.
"You can't just use any animal," said Fobb. "You can't go out in a field and start injecting your cows. These animals have to be maintained at high levels of good health, so it's an expensive process."
The sheep's blood is then extracted and put through a chemical wringer to separate the substance that eventually will become antivenin.
"It's an old process. It's been around since the late-1890s, but we've come a long way since then, and we know a lot more about how these things interact with people," Fobb said. "Antivenin is a very highly refined product."
To deal with her remaining bills, Bachman said she launched a Web site and plans to solicit donations at community events. So far, she has raised $80.
Defaulting on the bill isn't an option, she said.
"We want to pay it," she said. "We'd prefer not to give up her house to pay it, but we'll definitely pay it."
As for Elly, she only knows that she has to be careful to put high SPF sunscreen on the scars criss-crossing her leg.
"She's only 3," Bachman said. "She has no concept of money. I think the best thing for us is to get the Web site up there so people can find out how to help us."
To help: Jennifer and Harry Bachman are seeking donations to defray the $49,000 bill they faced when their daughter Elly, 3, was bitten by a copperhead.
Donations can be sent to the Elly Bachman Snakebite Fund at Regions Bank, 146 Sea Island Parkway, Beaufort, SC 29907
Snake takes a bite out of family's finances

This is actually right down the road from me and to treat the bite they really went by symptomology. But yeah this happened right down the road I got some friends who live in that same neighborhood actually. Don't know the people though.