On Saturday, my husband was doing battle with the infamous bougainvillea bush--um, monster again. Hey, when you have two jobs and lead boy scouts too, you have to tackle huge jobs in pieces.
Anyway, in the process of trimming that monster, he started bleeding and yelled for our son to get him paper towels. It was a lot of blood and so I went to check on him and asked him if we should go to the ER. "No. I'll be fine." He then showed me the wound. The bleeding had stopped and we both saw one puncture wound. He said it really hurt, though.
Since there was no way I was going to let him go back to trimming the monster bush again, I told him to take a shower. Well, when he got out of the shower, I took another look. Now, there were two spots. See:
The first thing I told him was that that looked like a snake bite and that he should go to the ER.The hubby: "No, I don't need to go. It's not a snake bite. I didn't even see a snake."
Me: "Are you sure? It's all red and there are two holes."
The hubby: "Yes, I'm sure. I'll be fine."
The kids: "Dad, I think you should go to the clinic at least."
The hubby: "No. I'm okay."
Me: "I think you should go get it checked out. I'm not so sure it was the bougainvillea."
The hubby: "No, it had to be the bougainvillea. The thorn must have just hit the vein. I might be developing an allergy to them. I'll be fine."
So, against my better judgment, I didn't make him go. The week-end progressed. The swelling and redness did not go down and he still complained of pain. I made him take the day off of work today to go see the doctor.
Well, the doctor threw a fit!
Here's what they think was the culprit:
Yes, that's a rattle snake. Specifically, a pygmy rattle snake. Fortunately, it was a dry bite--in other words, the snake did not inject any venom. My husband still got some venom off of the one fang that punctured his skin but he wasn't envenomed by the snake. On top of that, it was a baby snake. Phew! After a shot of antivenin and some antibiotics, he should be fine. Thank God!
Now, my husband is joking that he lived in Arizona for about 35 years where he was bitten by an alligator and we move to Florida where he's bitten by a rattle snake. Go figure!
Yep, there's never a dull moment around here. Want to come join the fun?
11 comments:
Ouch! Next time he better listen to you all. Hope things heal quickly.
YIKES!!!!!! I'm so happy that it wasn't worse that what it was but next time someone asks him to go to the ER, take him...handcuff him...do whatever you have to do to get him checked out! The "could of been" scares me!!!!!!!! Glad all is well! Bit by an alligator in Arizona and a rattler in Florida? I didn't know Arizona has alligators and Florida has rattle snakes. I would have figured the other way around! Hmmmm!!!!! Learn something new every day!!!!!!!! ;)
Oh my, I am glad you finally got him to listen to you .. although I have a DH just like him..Only he lost the battle with a hillside and a chainsaw last year. Nice deep cut just below his knee and many, many stitches later. He really did not want to go either.
OMGosh!! how scary :) lucky for him it wasn't worse. Here in Australia we have a Brown Snake and it's babies are MORE lethal than the big ones... go figure! I hope he feels better soon! cheers, caz
I'm so glad he's ok--I live in AZ and have never been bit by a rattlesnake or an alligator(?)! But bites can be sooo bad! Why don't our hubbies every listen to us?
Wow! It will be hard for your family to top this.
And do we understand from the "probably" aspect that the snake is still on the loose-- perhaps hunting for your squirrel?!
This makes up for the lack of "blood" on the kids, too. Wow.
Wow, what a story and what a blessing that your husband is okay! Excitement like that I can live without. I hope the rest of your week is a bit calmer.
Oh my goodness! I hope he is doing better. We were hiking this weekend we were about 3 miles away from anywhere, way up in the mountains, when my husband was almost bit by one on the trail. I'm glad that they both did OK.
Oh my stars :O Thank God it was a dry bite. He is really a blessd man...both with the snake and with you ;o) Glad all is well.
HOLLY COW!!!!
Men - then NEVER listen!!!!
OMG, that is crazy!!! Hope he heals quickly and thank goodness it was not worse.
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