Please Beware

On July 21 , just after the boy 13th birthday, He was bitten by a NorthernPacific rattlesnake (the snake was originally identified as a WesternDiamondback rattlesnake, but that species is not found near Yosemite). Hewas located on a trail in a hiking area near Yosemite National Park,California. The bite occurred when he was sitting on a small boulder at adistance of 4.5 miles from the trailhead with his cabin group at camp.

He hadhis arms dangling by his side, and a 5 foot long rattlesnake bit him in themiddle of my left palm.From this point, an amazing rescue took place, taking 4 hours to transporthim the 4.5 miles to the trailhead. The camp director had previously calledthe hospital, and a helicopter was waiting at the trailhead. During the 30minute helicopter ride he was going in and out of consciousness, havingtrouble keeping his eyes open.

They arrived at the Modesto, CA hospital, wherethe doctor in the emergency room decided that his case was too severe totreat at that medical centre. He told him, the thing which was the last thing heheard before going unconscious. Although he was unconscious for approximately the next 24 hours, but have heard about the following events from my parents.

He was taken from the Modesto hospital to the UC Davis Medical Centre inSacramento, the trauma centre for Northern California. The snake bite wasdetermined to be too severe for Modesto to deal with. At the UC Davishospital he underwent a Fasciotomy, which involved the doctors cutting openhis arm from the palm up to about the middle of my biceps. This was torelieve the extreme pressure that had built up in his arm from therattlesnake venom, making my arm as hard as a rock until the Fasciotomy.

He spent the next 35 days in the UC Davis hospital, had 8 surgeriesperformed for cleaning out the dead tissue from the arm, and finally had askin graft from the leg to close up the arm, which had remained open for 30days after the Fasciotomy until the skin graft surgery. That is 10surgeries in total at UC Davis.

He was released from the hospital on August 24, had 4 months of intensephysical therapy, and flew to Duke University Medical Centre in NorthCarolina for a follow-up surgery. This was a vascular flap surgery, duringwhich they took a chunk of skin and muscle from the back, attached its bloodvessels to the ones in his arm using microsurgery, and then stitched it tothe arm. Although 2 emergency surgeries were required within 24 hours onaccount of blood loss, the vascular flap was a success, and after 6 moremonths of physical therapy, the hand had had a significant improvement inmobility from when I left UC Davis and could move each finger only 2-3millimeters.

His hand now has fully mobility and is about 80% as strong as it was before,thanks to the father and now resuming their rock climbing after a 1 year break dueto the lack of strength left hand. He used it for about 90% of thethings he used to do with his left hand (I am right handed). 13 surgeries,$700,000 worth of helicopter flights, surgeries, and hospital stays (paidby the insurance of course), and 20 months later, I am very happy with theoutcome of this experience and the good fortune of getting through all thiswithout any significant loss.

With Love: Amirul010