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THE MERCURY (Pottstown, Pennsylvania) 23 October 05 Student could lose arm from snake bite (Tracy Meadowcroft)
Lower Pottsgrove: A 14-year-old St. Pius X High School student may lose her arm after being bitten by a copperhead snake Friday afternoon at the school, according to police.
The girl, whose name is not being released by police, was flown to Hershey Medical Center, where she was listed in very serious condition after initially receiving treatment at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center for the bite to her finger, according to Lower Pottsgrove Police Chief Ray Bechtel.
The girl was taken to PMMC about 45 minutes after she was bitten, Bechtel said.
"The doctors said if it had been a half-hour longer (until she received treatment) she would likely have been dead," Bechtel said.
"We’re quite concerned for the health and well-being of the little girl," he added.
A 17-year-old male student caught the snake in Valley Forge on Oct. 15, Bechtel said. The snake was identified by a picture on his camera phone, which aided in treating the victim. The boy, who has been cooperative during the investigation, may face charges of neglect concerning the incident, Bechtel said. The boy’s name also is not being released, he said.
The director of the drama club also may face charges for not calling medical personnel to treat the girl after she was bitten, he added.
Friday was an in-service day at the school, but members of the drama club had gathered there, at which time the boy brought out the snake, which had been kept in a shoebox, and was showing it to his fellow students, Bechtel said. The snake bit the girl’s finger and she apparently threw the snake across the room after being bitten, Bechtel said.
The boy thought the snake was dead, but it appeared to have only been stunned and has not been located since the boy threw it outside, according to Bechtel.
Bechtel said officials at St. Pius have been very helpful and cooperative during the investigation.
Although copperhead snake bites are typically not fatal they are extremely painful and have been known to cause extensive scarring and loss of limb use, according to the Web site of the North Carolina Cooperative Extension of North Carolina State University.
According to the site, North Carolina has recorded the most venomous snake bite incidents in the United States.
If bitten by a copperhead snake, the North Carolina Cooperative Extension strongly advises that the victim seek medical treatment immediately, since it injects more or less venom depending on how threatened it feels.
Student could lose arm from snake bite

This is not good...and will have serious local repercussions. I was wondering if this snake was not from Valley Forge but was from the Hamburg show. I also found the story on the AOL.com front page...

This hospital ER in Pottstown is about 15 mins away and is known to UNDER treat snakebites. They are on my "Hit List" for a visit and dialog.

Al
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Marriage changes passion;
Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

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

I've heard from a relyable source that she way the 3rd student to "Free Handle" this Copperhead....

Al
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"Snakes in Peru are not there for decoration, they really bite people."

Professor David Warrell, Omaha 10/21/05

Dear Venom-philes;

Could somebody please confirm that the "Copperhead" featured on the KDKA-TV banner at http://kyw.com/topstories/local_story_297145633.html is very, very pregnant?

I'll tell the people over at the B-P forum to get their butts overhere and start contributing.

Boy ... the things a newt-guy learns from the press.

respects
Wes ... after 4 cups of coffee in the past 90 minutes!

Wes:

That snake is at the Philly Zoo and is not gravid, way past the time females would drop their load anyway. The snake that bit the girl was a neonate born this year and was only 6 inches long.

Hope you got some sleep with all that coffee

Cheers!

Al
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"Snakes in Peru are not there for decoration, they really bite people."

Professor David Warrell, Omaha 10/21/05

John
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"Its no help to hide behind the statement that snake bite accidents are a rarity and that the average Dr seldom or never will treat one. For the bitten patient, it is a matter of life or death, and the rarity of the event is of no interest to him."

Hey John:

He's just so brilliant and a very caring human being, hearing him speak was very much a highlight of the Symposium.

Since he is the most experienced (Western)physician in treating Echis bites (one of my favorites) I had a very nice conversation with him about them.

Cheers!

Al

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"Snakes in Peru are not there for decoration, they really bite people."

Professor David Warrell, Omaha 10/21/05

Nuts ... I tried 'tongue-in-cheek' and ironic and I bobbled it. Used to court a young lady with three B-pythons of her own ... so I have a rough idea of what a C-head doesn't look like.

Oh well, the B-P people are sending a small corrective note to the station concerned ...

"...dissecting humor was like dissecting a frog: nobody is much interested, and the frog dies." ...

Well Wes...

I could have been my lack of coffee at that point. I sometimes really bugger up replys when doing them early in the AM.

However I think my reasoning about the media blowing it all out of proportion was accurate. Her hand looks like it's in good shape. I'm going to visit the school and give them a few pointers on Snakebite treatment, like lose the ICE the teacher told the student to apply.

Cheers!

Al
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"Snakes in Peru are not there for decoration, they really bite people."

Professor David Warrell, Omaha 10/21/05

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