This story was originally published on July 7, 2023.
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by Dusty McGehee
Friday, June 23, 2023, began as a great morning at my house. I had the day off. The weather was nice and both boys were awake, so we decided to go sit on the back porch and watch a movie. Mae was still asleep. Soon after, Rachel came out with a cup of coffee and relaxed in the rocking chair. Mae (my Princess) wasn’t too far behind her. I consciously remember looking around at my family at one point, and thinking this was perfection; boy was I ever wrong.
Mae enjoyed a few powdered donuts and then walked out of sight around to the front of the house to find Reese, one of our dogs. A couple of minutes later, she rounded the corner with something in her grip. Rachel saw her first and was stunned. Mae was smiling, obviously proud of her accomplishment. I was squinting from the couch trying to identify what creature she had (from a distance, I assumed it was a lizard).
She got to the porch, held up her trophy and said “Well look at what I have! This little cutie just bit me!” We noticed it was a snake and immediately knew this was not a normal one. In a split second, my brain comprehended the colors: black, red, yellow. Red was touching yellow. In unison, Rachel and I both yelled “DROP IT!”
She did, and it slithered under the couch where the boys and I were sitting. We jumped away from the couch and looked at Mae in disbelief at what she just said.
“It bit you?! Are you sure?!?,” we asked, panicked.
“Yep! Right here,” she replied, pointing to her thumb. Sure enough, on the tip of her thumb are two small puncture marks, bleeding slightly.
We started throwing pieces of the couch out of the way to get another look at the snake to confirm what we already knew. It was a coral snake.
“Get her to the hospital NOW!” I yelled to Rachel, which prompted Mae to start crying.
“What’s going to happen to me,” she cried.
Uh oh, we knew she didn’t need to get upset. She needed to be as calm as possible.
I made a phone call as they loaded up to my cousin Jeff. His son suffered a cottonmouth/water moccasin bite a couple of years ago, so I figured he knew the drill. In a panicked voice I asked “Where did Jack go to get antivenom. Mae just got bit by a coral snake!?”
He responded “St. Francis.” I didn’t even say bye… at this point I knew seconds were crucial. I relayed the information to Rachel and they raced to St. Francis. While they were on the way, I tried to find the snake to kill it and get a better picture as I knew the hospital would want to confirm. But I couldn’t find it. I knew it was hiding somewhere in the patio couch. I gave up, thinking my neighbor would be able to come over and kill it while we were gone.
I called St. Francis to let them know what happened and that Mae was on her way. One last check outside before I headed to the hospital, and I spotted the snake. Success. It would never strike again.
Mae was rushed back to the ER as soon as she arrived at St. Francis. The staff was shocked to see that it was a coral snake that bit her. It’s rare to see a coral snake, much less be bitten by one. In all my years of being outdoors, I had never seen one until that day. I asked about the antivenom, and they told us they didn’t have the proper antivenom for a coral snake. They informed us we were being transferred to Children’s of Mississippi Hospital because they had a great toxicologist that was better equipped for the type of snake bite and an amazing PiCU, as the likelihood of her being intubated was high. Yes, a breathing tube.
Our minds were racing. “Wait…What??” Rachel and I were both thinking. We could tell the swelling in her hand wasn’t getting any worse so why were we now talking about a breathing tube?? Well, coral snake venom is not like pit viper (copperhead, cottonmouth, rattlesnake) venom where your concern is bite site tissue swelling & necrosis.
It’s a neurotoxin. It affects the person neurologically: muscle weakness, difficulty speaking, swallowing, breathing, etc. It got real, real fast.
I headed back home to pack bags as Rachel and Mae were waiting on the helicopter. As I crossed over the Ouachita River, I saw the helicopter taking off from St. Francis and my heart sank. The feeling of seeing my baby girl flying away from me was almost indescribable, and something I never want to experience again.
They landed in Jackson a short time later and were whisked down to the ER. Mae was given more pain meds and some anti-anxiety meds in the helicopter, so she was sort of out of it when they arrived. The staff was concerned as this inhibited their ability to assess her neurological state. The doctor decided to give her a few more minutes to come out of it so they wouldn’t intubate her unnecessarily. Thank the Lord they waited.
Mae began to wake up and was able to answer questions clearly and correctly. It’s at this point she informed everyone that the snake bit her not just once, but three times: thumb, middle finger, and ring finger. During this short time, it was like a parade through her triage room.
Children’s of Mississippi Hospital is a teaching hospital so there were many future doctors coming to see the patient. The staff informed us that we would be admitted to the PiCU and would be there at least 24 hours, but most likely longer. They also told us the antivenom was on its way from the Memphis Zoo. Yep, the zoo. Before we headed upstairs, the ER doctor and I asked Mae if she planned on picking up snakes any time soon. Her response surprised us both. “Just the green ones,” she said groggily.
Once in the PiCU, she had hourly neuro checks. The staff told us if she had any neuro issues or difficulty breathing within 13 hours of the bite, she would be given the antivenom and possibly intubated. The antivenom would not prevent any of the neurological or breathing issues but would (hopefully) stop them from worsening once they began. We found out she could not have any pain medicine, food, or water. Excruciating. This was excruciating for us all. She was in major pain, and it was painful for us to not be able to help.
After a very long day and night, the pain subsided, slightly. She showed no signs of any neuro/respiratory issues and was cleared by three different doctors. We were cleared to head west back home. Thank God! Mae was a little disappointed we had to take the car home and not the helicopter.
I know this story is long, but I hope there are some key lessons here:
- Children picking up/playing with snakes is not a good idea. Sounds obvious, but they have seen me catch a few in the past. Mae thought it was ok. This was not the first snake she had brought to me. Every time I told her that was not the correct thing to do, and to wait for me to identify it before anyone got closer. Obviously, the example I set was not the best, so watch what you do.
- St. Francis appears to be the hospital to go to for your normal snake bites from our common venomous snakes. Knowing where to go could be the difference between life and death.
- Teach your kids snake identification and to respect them. The saying “red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black friend of jack” that I was taught as a child sure helped with this incident. Luckily the saying didn’t mention a Princess.
A few days later, Cousin Jeff had us over for dinner to celebrate Mae’s victory over the coral snake. As we discussed the theories on why Mae was able to overcome this, Jeff spoke up and said, “You know why it turned out this way?” I tried to guess using my biology and herpetology background on what I knew about snake bites, but he butted in before I could finish. “Prayers is what healed your baby girl.”
I couldn’t argue. The prayers from our friends, family, and our entire community were overwhelming. Every one of you is amazing, and we are forever grateful. Thank you. I hope to never write a story like this again!
