WJXX (Jacksonville, Florida) 28 June 05 Teen Recovering From Rattlesnake Bite (Kyle Meenan)
Yulee, Florida: The McClellon home sits shaded by large oak trees on a couple of well-manicured acres out in the country, with neatly trimmed shrubs and a welcoming presence.
Behind the home, a small barn-like structure provides shelter to the family's horse and a few other small animals.
It was under that barn early Monday afternoon that 18-year old Brandon McClellon started moving a lawnmower and an overturned bucket to get at a couple of red ramps to change his oil.
He never got past the bucket.
As he lifted it, he startled a 4-1/2 foot long rattlesnake coiled underneath.
Brandon had just enough time to turn away when the snake struck, its needle-like fangs piercing the flesh above his left heel, not once but twice.
Brandon ran the hundred or so feet to the house, yelling to his friend, Jacob Gill, for help.
Jacob immediately dialed 9-1-1, and within minutes Nassau County Rescue 70 was on the scene.
Lieutenant Scott Hemmingway knew it was a race against time to get Brandon to Shands Jacksonville as the snake's venom traveled through his leg.
"When it's a poisonous snake bite, we know we have to get them to the hospital where they can get the antidote," said Hemmingway. "That's the most important thing."
And care for snakebite victims has evolved over the years.
"They've gotten away from ice packs. They've gotten away from constricting bands, the tourniquets," said Hemmingway.
"We don't cut or incise the wound and suck it anymore. Basically, you work on pain management. You monitor the patient's vitals and airway en route to the hospital."
At the Jacksonville Zoo, herpetologist Greg Lepera explained the damage a rattler's venom can do once it's flowing through the human bloodstream.
"With rattlesnakes, the venom typically attack the blood vessels. They destroy the lining of the blood vessels, they make the blood vessels permeable so you get fluid leaking into the tissues," said Lepera.
"They destroy red and white blood cells, and affect clotting ability. People that do die from snakebites such as a rattlesnake often die from collapse of the cardiovascular system."
Anti-venin, also known as anti-venom, is the key to minimizing the damage and insuring a poisonous snakebite victim's survival.
It neutralizes the damage-causing venom, allowing the body's natural healing to begin.
But time is critical.
"Certainly if you can get to the hospital within a half-hour you really can reduce your risk of having a lot of tissue damage," said Lepera.
In Brandon's case, the ambulance arrived at Shands within an hour of the bite, but in the final minutes of the drive, he was beginning to experience breathing difficulty and his left leg was swelling dangerously.
Emergency doctors intubated the teen to keep his airway open as the anti-venin was administered.
Back home in Yulee, other fire rescue personnel joined Brandon's friend, Jacob, to search for the snake.
It didn't take them long to locate the reptile, curled up just a few feet from where Brandon was bitten.
Jacob was armed with a small-guage shotgun with bird-shot in the chamber.
"One shot and it was done," said Gill, who placed the dead snake in a bucket to take it to the hospital.
"We wanted the doctors to be sure just what kind of snake it was that bit Brandon. We wanted to make sure he got the right anti-venom."
The dead snake was confirmed as an Eastern Diamondback Rattler.
Soon Brandon's parents, Pam and Johnny arrived at the hospital. Then, friends and neighbors showed up, along with members of the family's Christian church.
By nightfall, the waiting room and halls were lined with supporters praying for Brandon as his condition worsened.
He was in critical condition, unconscious, and breathing with a ventilator, according to his mother, but they were comforted by those dozens of friends and neighbors.
"He's a well-liked and well-loved kid," said Brandon's father, Johnny McClellon.
"He's an awesome son, and a very good kid and he's strong and he's healthy, and with the faith of this family and all of our church friends and everybody that's been around us this last 24-hours... he's going to be OK."
Following a sleepless night, Brandon's parents returned home Tuesday morning just long enough to shower and change clothes, still amazed at the support of their friends in their hour of need.
"It really showed last night just how much he's loved and liked and they're coming back today and they were there when we left," said Johnny McClellon.
By late Tuesday afternoon, Brandon started showing signs of improvement.
"He woke up about an hour ago and they just took him off the ventilator," said his mother, Pam, at 4 p.m..
"They say he's not out of the woods just yet, it'll be another eight or ten hours, but they say he's no longer critical."
Snake expert Greg Lepera says thanks to hospitals stocking a variety of anti-venins, the death rate from poisonous snake bites in this country has fallen over the years.
"Very few people die from rattlesnake bites," said Lepera.
"There are probably 8,000 bites a year from various venomous snakes in the United States and maybe eight to twelve people per year die, so the percentage of people that pass away is very small."
Lepera also dispelled a few myths about rattlesnakes.
Number one -- that they will always shake their rattle to warn an intruder before striking.
"Rattlesnakes don't always rattle before they strike. They often just sit quietly and rely on their camouflage," said Lepera.
"As a matter of fact, in very few cases do they actually rattle before they bite."
And he offers advice to those living in Northeast Florida who may encounter a rattlesnake.
"Absolutely leave alone a snake that you find in the yard. Very few bites are accidents. Most bites are from people messing with the snake, so if you leave them alone, you really significantly reduce your chances of being injured."
"Just take a step backwards. The striking range (of the snake) is pretty short, typically, about a third of their body length, and a quick step backwards, will usually get you out of the way," said Lepera.
In Brandon McClellon's case, the snake never rattled, and never gave the teen the chance to get out of its range.
"He just bit him," said Jacob Gill. "But we just hope and pray he'll be all right."
NEWS-LEADER (Fernandina Beach, Florida) 29 June 05 Snake bites teen (Shannon Malcom)
An 18-year-old Nassauville man was taken to Shands Jacksonville Monday after a rattlesnake bit him.
Brandon McClellan is listed in critical condition.
"He has been fighting for his life," said McClellan's mother, Pam McClellan.
Nassau County Fire-Rescue Lt. Scott Hemmingway said McClellan was in an open barn when he picked up a tarp off the ground Monday afternoon.
"The snake bit him when he lifted up that tarp," Hemmingway said.
The incident happened about 12:30 p.m., at McClellan's 1564 Steven Road residence.
Nassau County Fire Chief Chuck Cooper said large amounts of rain could drive snakes to drier ground, closer to people.
"It's something people need to be aware of, with all the rain we've been having," Cooper said. "Snakes come up to higher ground."
Cooper said the snake was killed by authorities and taken to the hospital, where it was identified as a timber rattlesnake.
The snake was approximately five feet long.
McClellan was bitten on his lower left leg. His mother said the bite was near a major artery in his leg, and he suffered an allergic reaction to the bite.
Pam McClellan said her son has been stabilized, although doctors have warned her he's not out of the woods.
"He's possibly got a rough road ahead," she said.
Still, she said she believes he can recover. McClellan said support from friends and the hospital staff is helping the family through a difficult time.
"He's strong, he's 18, he's a big kid, he's tough," she said. "... He is such a good kid, and everybody loves him."
http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2005/06/29/news/01newssnakebite.txt
Teen Recovering From Rattlesnake Bite
