On Easter Sunday (31/03/2013) my worst nightmare became true. I was not having a very good day to start off with, the whole day I had a weird gut feeling. Easter Sunday is our busiest day of the year and it was almost time for the snake demonstration (14h20). I went to the Reptile Park to fetch the Green Mamba, which I have used many times for demonstrations! The bucket was ready and I had the snake on the hook and tailed. I put it in the bucket and with the lid in my left hand to close the bucket. As I closed it the snake came out and my left index finger was on the wrong spot at the wrong time and it bit me. First thought was maybe it was a dry bite, I saw the blood and felt a stingy feeling at the bite site, and then I knew! I immediately put the snake back and made sure the cage is locked. I phoned our HR manager and told him we need to go to the hospital and I was bitten. I quickly went to the first aid kit, got a bandage and wrapped it tightly around my forearm (it was too small to do my full arm) and was taken to hospital. Amazingly enough I was so calm while doing all this; I think it’s because I know how important staying calm in this situation is. We also informed Krugersdorp Netcare Private Hospital that we are on our way.
(30 minutes after bite)
The first symptoms I experienced were swelling around the bite but not allot of pain, a hectic cold sweat, shaking lips and nausea. When I got to the trauma unit they were ready for me. I made sure HR knew that if I blacked out that he would contact Arno Naude for any big decisions the doctor might need to make. My dad was also on his way and already contacted Arno. They put me on a drip, gave me an anti-histamine shot, put me on oxygen and monitored my breathing and heart rate and my saturation levels very closely. They also gave me an adrenaline shot.
(1-2 hours after the bite and cleaned)
Dr. Erasmus in the trauma unit told me that he will only use anti-venom as a last resort; I also heard some of the nurses telling each other that you treat the symptoms of a snake bite. The symptoms that followed were the worst: bite swelling more, still a cold sweat, lips still shaking, still nauseas, my whole body started to feel stiff and sore. I started to struggle to breathe and swallow. There was also needles and pins on all my fingers and toes. It was the worst feeling ever and now I started to worry.
After stabilising me and making sure that the saturation levels are sufficient and no further neurotoxic effects are prominent, I was then moved to ICU, where Dr. Vermooten (Intern specialist) took over. He told me that the hospital does have Polyvalent Anti-Venom in stock and there was some more on the way from Millpark Hospital. He asked me I must inform immediately if I start to lose any vision. The symptoms more or less stayed the same. The only one that was really getting bad was that my whole body was in pain! My skin, bones and organs everywhere was in pain. I also started to develop a slimy cough and my eyes were watering allot. My arm was elevated and I could slowly see the swelling moving down my arm, but the colour was normal. I was monitored right through the night. I stayed on oxygen, a drip and my blood pressure was taken every 30 minutes. An X-ray was taken of my chest for the doctor to see how much fluid is in my lungs. They also tested my blood a few times and a ventilator was also standing ready.
The next morning I was feeling allot better, but the swelling was up unto my elbow. The doctor moved me to a normal ward. I stayed on oxygen, a drip and received some painkillers. By the end of the day the swelling was up to my armpit.
(hand comparison day 2)
(Swelling on my arm day 2)
By the third day the swelling did not go any further and a surgeon came to check for compact syndrome, but didn’t see any. I also received physiotherapy on the arm for the next 4 days. Where they did an ultrasound on the arm and also massaged it. I also received another 2 sets of x-rays while standing to check for fluid on my lungs. They also did a sleep study on me to check that there isn’t any disturbance with my nerves while sleeping. My blood was also tested every second day and every day I was injected with blood thinning medicine. On day 5 the doctor removed the oxygen as well as the drip and I was sent home on the 7th day after the bite. It’s been exactly 10 days after the bite and my hand and arm is still sensitive. My breathing is also not 100% and I get out of breath very quickly. But I feel better every day.
(Day 7 till present)
This was really the scariest thing I have ever experienced in my life and never want to have it over again. Even though my overweight body and slow metabolism helped to let the venom move through my body allot slower, it will make the recovery quite longer. So I’m really going to lose some weight. Luckily I stopped smoking 2 months or so back, otherwise it might also have been worse on my lungs. I am very lucky that I got off so lightly from this and didn’t even need anti-venom. I can also be very lucky that it is a WCA , otherwise I am not sure my medical aid would have covered everything.
When it gets to venomous snake handling to me, the number one rule is always safety. But after this event I have come to another number one rule and that is: “NEVER MAKE AN EXCEPTION!” I handle venomous snakes on a daily basis and it is my job. I never take chances and have never free handled any venomous.
My rules are:
• SAFETY FIRST AND NEVER MAKE AN EXCEPTION.
• MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TOOLS AND CONTAINERS.
• WHEN DANGEROUS VENOMOUS ANIMALS ARE HANDLED, MAKE SURE THERE IS ANOTHER HANDLER WITH YOU, THAT IS ALSO EQUIPPED WITH TOOLS.
• WHEN WORKING WITH DANGEROUS VENOMOUS ANIMALS, MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AT A SAFE DISTANCE.
• NEVER HANDLE ANY VENOMOUS ANIMALS IF YOU ARE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR ANY STRONG MEDICINE.
• NEVER HANDLE VENOMOUS WHEN YOU ARE IN A HURRY
• IF YOU ARE HANDLING VENOMOUS WITH PEOPLE AROUND, MAKE SURE YOU IGNORE THEIR TALKING AND CONCENTRATE ON THE SNAKE.
• RATHER LEAVE THE VENOMOUS SNAKES FOR THE NEXT DAY IF YOU DO HAVE A BAD GUT FEEL OR HAVING A BAD DAY.
So where did I go wrong then? Well I was making an exception on 3 of my rules. By being in a hurry, no other handler present and handling while not feeling good. I hope every venomous handler can learn from my mistake.
I would like to say thank you to GOD, my family, friends and RLNR colleagues for their support, help and prayers. Special thanks to Krugersdorp Private Hospital, thank you for helping me. Thank you to the trauma unit, the ICU and the nurses of the Constantia Ward. Thanks to Dr. Erasmus, Dr. Vermooten, Ronel Venter and to Arno Naude for helping.
Praise God for raining me up on resurrection day.