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Fort Payne woman gets rare snakebite
Published June 29, 2009
DeKalb County realtor Charlotte Gentry got quite a surprise Sunday night when she felt a sharp pain in her toe and looked down to discover a poisonous snake at her feet.
Gentry grabbed a hoe and killed the snake on the steps just outside her Fort Payne home before she called 911. Later, she found out the snake that bit her was a copperhead.
“Its bite was the worst pain I have ever felt,” Gentry said.
Gentry’s husband, Hollis, took her to DeKalb Regional Medical Center, and she was then taken to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, Tenn. by ambulance, where she remained on Monday. She had the dead snake in tow all the while.
Gentry said she received a healthy dose of anti-venom and was expected to go home sometime today. She said doctors told her they wanted to keep her another night due to low blood pressure and heart rate.
“I’ve got a blackish, reddish second toe and my foot is about twice the size it normally is, but otherwise I’m all right,” Gentry said. “At least I can know what people go through when they are snake bitten.”
Gentry said the 10-inch snake had a copper head and was light and dark gray in a triangular pattern on its body.
Diane McMichen, spokesperson with DeKalb Regional Medical Center, said the hospital has seen four cases of snakebites so far this year, and two of those involved venomous snakes. The hospital handled seven snakebite cases in 2008.
“It’s not uncommon that we see snake bites, but it is rare,” McMichen said. “We do have anti-venom here.”
Wildlife biologist Keith Hudson with Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries agreed snakebites are rare as much as people are outdoors. He said copperheads are one of the more common snakes in DeKalb County.
Hudson offered some tips should someone be bitten by a snake.
“Stay calm and relax,” Hudson said. “Do not cut the area where the fangs went in or try to suck the venom out or even put a tourniquet on. The most important thing is to identify the snake.”
Through the experience, Gentry said she learned a lesson.
“I’m not to be so apt to be running around outside without some good, sturdy shoes on from now on,” Gentry said.
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