Last Updated on May 18, 2018 by Terry
I’m Still Alive!
Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. –Good News Bible
The Devil tried to kill me again, and this time he came in person! I was bitten by a giant snake, July 31st, 2015. I wanted to try wading a Creek that feeds into the Buffalo River. I had heard you could catch fish all day. Probably not a good idea with my knee and ankle in the shape they’re in, but it sounded good at the time. I parked under a bridge on highway 65 about five miles north of Marshall and left from there.
This is a little different for me, fishing for small fish. Normally I would be after larger bass in a river lake in eastern Arkansas, but it was late July and wading in clear running water sounded pretty good. I had been fishing about three hours and was about a mile or so from the truck when I decided it was about time to turn back. My ankle had lasted about as long as it could.
I determined to try the next tail water being it was a little darker which meant deeper. It could hold the biggest fish of the day. I walked around the rapids and a few weeds and was getting close to the deeper hole and was imagining how big this next fish would be. As usual, I was not paying attention to what was going on around me. I typically live in tunnel vision. Apparently I stepped on a slippery rock due to the fact that both of my feet shot forward out from under me and were now higher above creek level than my head. I threw both arms out and backwards to brace my fall as I tensed for my landing.
Just as my back landed on the edge of the bank, my right arm had simultaneously landed right on top of a coiled Cottonmouth. He was fishing also and I disturbed him. He was coiled right beside the bank ready to strike a perch for lunch. 20 minutes earlier I had seen a big cottonmouth swimming up the creek with a perch in its mouth.
I was sitting in the water when he struck me just below the right elbow. Click here to see a pic of my arm in the hospital. I rolled to my left to get away from him. As I rolled, I remember hoping it was a copperhead as they are not as dangerous as a moccasin. I peeked back over my right shoulder in time to see the big nasty snake easing into the water. It was not a copperhead.
I finally climbed to my feet and rolled my arm over in order to see the point of attack. Blood was flowing down my arm from both fang marks. I was immediately devastated. I was wading, therefore leaving my phone in the truck. No picture of the bleeding fangs!
I tied a bandanna around my arm just above the elbow and began wading back. I walked the 60 minutes to the truck and headed for the medical facility on the west edge of Marshall. It was closed. Open Monday-Thursday only. I remember seeing a sign farther into town that mentioned something about medical on it so I headed there. I pulled up and saw cars. I’m starting to feel better. I parked and walked to the receptionist desk and informed her I have been attacked by a deadly serpent. She acts startled but instructed me they could offer no help due to the fact that they were merely the County Health Department. I asked her what people in this area do if they are attacked by Satan on the weekend, just die? She informed me that they drive 40 miles to the nearest hospital. I started the near hour long trek to the ER. (I remember being pleased with myself since I was able to keep my streak alive as well. This was my 19th ER visit and I have driven myself every time except when I was too young to drive and my mother took me.)
I contacted my brother JB in the Little Rock area to let him know what was going on. It had been almost two hours since the vicious attack and I was beginning to feel dizzy and needed him to talk me through the last part of the trip. My arm was now rapidly swelling and was beginning to hurt.
I arrived at the ER about 5pm. I parked up front, normally reserved for doctors, and rushed inside. The lady informed me I must drive around back to the ER. I told her I was incapable to continue driving and she must take me through the hospital to ER. We made two turns and she pointed at a door for me to enter. It was the financial office. I had to fill out paperwork! Looking back, I should have fallen to the floor and started quivering.
Once in the ER they drilled me with a tetanus shot first thing. After 9 attempts, they finally got an IV installed. (I knew they were having trouble with it, but the paramedic on the ambulance I rode to Little Rock later saw it in my folder and commented about their failures.) They were administering an anti-venom through the IV. After they got it hooked up they put me in an ambulance and transferred me to Baptist ER in LR. I spent 48 hours there. Come to find out, Cottonmouth venom ain’t good for you. I threw up the entire time. The attending doctor at the hospital told me I could go home when I could keep some food down. I tried a few cheerios and water Saturday morning. Didn’t last ten seconds. At lunch I took one bite of a sandwich. Again, 10 seconds. By supper I got the shakes just by looking at food.
It was not a pretty experience. I’m holding a vomit bucket in one hand and a plastic container to pee in with the other. I was not able to stand and walk to the bathroom. Horrible sea sickness. After puking for over 24 hours, they brought me a breakfast burrito Sunday morning. I swooned and asked for more cheerios. Well, that didn’t work either. I am on the verge of believing that “upchucking” is my new hobby. Finally, about 1pm, after eating a couple of bites of a sandwich, I realized after about ten minutes I was keeping it down. I ate half of the lunch in order to please the doctor and was able to head home about 4:30pm, although my arm was still swollen beyond recognition.
I slept pretty good Sunday night and then received a call from the attending doctor’s office Monday afternoon. They informed me that after analyzing my latest blood work, I was not going to lose my right arm. Good, first I heard of that possibility. They informed me they didn’t want to upset me with all the specifics until they were sure.
Well good for them, what I know is that Jesus bailed me out again. I survived to fish another day.
And one more thing for Satan: Snakebite? Really? You gotta do better than that!
