Camping and Copperheads

Hi All,

welllll, the camping trip was last weekend. You know, the big camping trip with 4 generations and we all have a great time and plan for next year's trip? This one was cut short by the copperhead bite I received on my left ankle Friday evening. It was about 10 minutes to midnight and I was walking back to my tent with my daughter. I must have pissed him off just right. He got my ankle right on the inside bone.

Mom and Dad bundled me into my sister's van and DH held his hands around my leg sort of like a tourniquet. We drew around the initial swelling and bite marks with a purple sharpie and time stamped it. 11:52. Into town we went, Mom holding out her cell phone until she could get a signal and then calling 911 to direct us to the nearest hospital. Luckily, it was only a 10 minute ride away. I was in the er within 25 minutes of the bite. Tetanus shot administered, iv line set and ready to go. They observed me for an hour or so, marking the advancing swelling before finally deciding to give me some antivenin. Up to this point, I'd not had any pain meds and the pain was an intense burning sensation. I finally asked for something and they decided on Demoral. I typically don't even take aspirin. 5 minutes in I started to feel lightheaded and ask DH to go get the nurse. My blood pressure tanked...like 77/40. Stopped the antivenin asap, flipped my gurney upside down and began trying for another iv line in my right arm to administer fluids post haste. That was a little scary. After I was stabilized, they called the ambulance crew in to transport me to a bigger hospital in case I needed any more emergency treatment, like a fasciotamy. The local er just wasn't set up for this sort of thing. Off to Ardmore we went. Another er, more bloodtests, oxygen and then admited to a room around 6 am. Lots of signing things, questions, pokes and prods and I was finally able to go to sleep around 7. They released me around 4 pm that day (Saturday) at which point we stopped and bought crutches and returned to the campsite to pack up and head home. My foot, which had sort of stopped swelling in the hospital bed began it's creep of fluid up my leg and the pain was pretty intense. We had both driven our vehicles to the site as we had a child and lots of equipment with us. I drove the truck home, 100 miles since my car is a manual. No shifting for me, that's for sure.

Since then, I've been either on the couch or on the bed. I've been trying to hobble around. sometimes it's fine, sometimes it hurts like a son of a bitch. Missed work all this week and don't have to be anywhere until monday at 9. Then we go down to Galveston, Tx to deliver our youngest to college at Texas A&M, Galveston. So glad it wasn't her that got bit.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. I'll try to keep up with posting until I'm healed so other people can compare stories. I had a really hard time finding any sort of information on recovery time and what type, if any tissue damage I'm going to be looking at. They've got all the medical stuff, but no after care. I guess they just clear you and send you home, but no one really documents the recovery time.

peace,

Deb