This Is Why You Should Have A Snake-Venom Kit With You In The Woods

Big Daddy Lawler is a fellow who hosts an outdoors show every Saturday morning on a radio station in Thomasville, Ala. On his Facebook wall yesterday, Big Daddy posted a story and a photo from a reader named Chad, who on Sunday had been bitten by a rattlesnake. We've cropped the photo above, but you can see it below.

This is Chad's story:

To all my friends who hunt, camp, or spend time in the woods:The pic below is of my left leg after being struck by a 6ft timber rattler today while turkey hunting. The snake bit through my hunting pants and Muck Boots (I usually wear snake boots when turkey hunting, but could not locate them this morning). The initial bite felt like being hit in the calf by a baseball bat at full swing followed by excruciating pain radiating out from the bite wounds. Fortunately, I carry a snake bite extractor kit in my turkey vest, and was able to remove the majority (I guestimated 3-4 cups) of the venom contaminated blood. Following the instructions from the kit, I kept my heart rate down as best I could, and slowly limped the 200 yds to my vehicle, and was able to drive myself to the hospital which, thank the good Lord, was about 20 min away. Once there, I was administered the anti-venom, antibiotics, ect. The ER Doc told me that, based on the distance between the two fang punctures and their diameter and depth, if I had not used the venom extractor kit, I would have died before I ever made it to my truck. So, if you do not already own one, I want you to go to a sporting goods store and purchase a venom extractor kit ASAP. I bought mine at academy and it was around $10.00. I would urge you to buy a couple. Put one in each vehicle in your household, in your hunting or hiking pack, and especially your B.O.B. ect,,,,they are about the size of a bar of soap and can literally save your life or someone you love. Please don't blow this off. Do it tomorrow!!!!I am spending one night (hopefully) in the hospital, and may require some minor surgery to remove any damaged tissue from the poison, but that is a far cry from losing my leg or passing through the pearly gates!!!!Respectfully, Your Friend,Chad Cross

Now, my idea of spending time in the woods is to keep moving until I'm no longer in the woods. But if I ever go hunting in Alabama, I'm taking Chad's advice—and not just because of that story. This is the full photo of Chad's leg, which was taken when he was in the hospital. Pretty ewwy.