A young girl, a 63-year-old woman and 12 others around Palo Pinto County all have one thing in common – they have suffered a snake bite.
Tragically the girl died from medical complications, but others have or are apparently recovering.
“It’s a little higher than normal, but they (bites) have been extra venomous,” said Harris Brooks, CEO at Palo Pinto General Hospital.
Part of that, he believes, is due to high temperatures. He explained that snakes’ vision is like a thermal camera, they see heat signatures. When temperatures are high, it blurs their vision and their strikes are neither as accurate nor as controlled.
He said the venom from rattlesnakes and copperheads, common in this part of Texas, works as an anti-coagulant.
“Basically, it gets in your blood and the victim starts bleeding under the skin,” said Brooks.
From there, organs begin to fail as the bleeding spreads through the body.
If a person is bitten by a snake, hospital administrators across the area agree, get to a hospital as quickly as possible.
“Basically, get to help as fast as you can,” Brooks stressed.
AT PPGH there is anti-venom available.
“It’s ridiculously expensive,” said Brooks, adding that each vial costs $2,000.
He said depending on the severity of the bite, eight to 10 vials could be needed for treatment.
“Unless they show symptoms, we don’t give shots,” Brooks said.
In Young County, Graham Regional Medical Center carries the anti-venom and can treat patients.
Steve Hartgraves, CEO of GRMC, said each box contains two vials, the cost is $4,000.
“You can’t buy just one vial,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to buy just one.”
Depending on the severity, patients can be treated at Graham or might be transported to a larger hospital.
“If it can be treated here, we do,” said Hartgraves.
He said there have been six bites treated at Graham this year.
Farther west, Stephens Memorial Hospital CEO Shane Kernell in Breckenridge also confirmed that hospital carries Crofab anti-venom.
“We stock it here,” he said.
Kernell has been at Stephens about a month, having been the chief financial officer at the Eastland hospital.
“We had a dozen snake bites in Eastland,” he said.
He agrees, if bitten seek immediate medical treatment.
“Folks just need to get to the nearest emergency room,” he said.
Whether or not the anti-venom is administered is a doctor’s decision.
“It’s always going to be a doctor’s decision,” he said. “It (anti-venom) is about as toxic as the real deal.”
Kernell noted that an injection of Crofab could be fatal if the patient has not been bitten by a venomous snake.
“They have to be certain before they’ll administer the anti-venom.”
