He showed me the tip of his middle finger and he mentioned going ahead and packing a bag for him while his adviser, Bev, (and some students) sped to Delta post haste. Looking back the whole scenerio was calm.
The ambulance met them halfway. Honestly, I never thought that Bryan would be one to get bit. He was attempting to retrieve one of the rattlesnakes (which had a transmitter) under a rock, when the snake had other plans and ended up piercing Bryan's finger with one fang. It didn't take long before his finger and hand began to swell. Then, came the following manifestations of pain and weakness. Nausea, vomiting, and headaches would soon follow.
I dropped the kids off at mom's house and drove the 98 miles to the Delta hospital to meet up with Bryan. By then, they had already given him a couple of vials of anti venom and his first drip of morphine. He said the pain was excruciating and he could feel it follow his lymph system to his arm pit. You can see the swelling advance up into his wrist......
Delta didn't have enough anti venom, plus with an case this serious they decided to transport him another 80 + miles to Provo. I think I was at the hospital for only 15-20 minutes before we said our goodbyes and departed. I had to go back home and hold the fort down and make sure the kids got to school. Plus, at 7 months pregnant, a hospital chair can't be too comfortable all day to sit in......
I talked to Bryan on the phone. Apparently it took them 8 hours to finally manage the pain somewhat. Morphine hadn't touched it! He was miserable in ICU for a few days. They ended up using 8 vials of anti venom! They did their best to monitor his pain and swelling.
A large blood blister, called a hemorraghic bleb, formed from bleeding under the skin around the bite site. The surgeon took these two photos below of Bryan's hand before and after he used a scalpel to relieve the painful pressure. Of course, this meant inflicting pain to lessen pain.
The bleb, before the scalpel:
After the scalpel:
On Wednesday, I rode in with mom, Audrey, and Adam to visit Bryan. I stayed in the hospital while they attended my uncle's funeral (yeah, hell of a week)
I tried to get photos of different stages of Bryan's finger and hand when I could. I was also happy to just sit with him and cuddle in the twin hospital bed :)
The nursing staff was probably thinking, "I don't know who needs that hospital bed more?"lol
Here is the "Pain Scale" poster. Bryan's level probably hovered in the 8 - 10 mark most of the time. While I was there on Wednesday, they moved him out of ICU up to one of the regular floors, which was a positive sign......
Finally, they found that alternating two different pain medications (Dilaudid & Percocet) through the day seemed to manage most of the pain. Occasionally he would need nausea medication. The bite site would continue weeping. We were all looking forward to his discharge from the hospital on September 11th.
Check out these "goals":
I returned to Provo on Wednesday (9/11) with the kids to pick up Bryan and take him home. Ava missed a few hours of school that day. She didn't seem too disappointed. We were all looking forward to seeing Bryan. Luckily, he was feeling a little better. We even paused to shop for groceries in Payson on the return home. Bryan now knows first hand (actually first finger) how it feels to get bit by a Great Basin Rattlesnake. He can share that experience in his future talks, if the opportunity presents itself.
The day after we got home, September 12th, marked our 9th wedding anniversary. It was pretty low key. We will make up for it next year ~ on the big 10 :)
I was relieved when that week came to an end. Too much excitement and time behind the steering wheel gave me a few more uncomfortable braxton hicks contractions, and made me much more aware of pregnancy hormones.
Rattlesnake bites are always a risk when you are a wildlife biologist; specifically Herpetologist. Bryan had a clean record for a long time, handling countless rattlesnakes over the last 22 years. In this profession, the odds eventually catch up with you.
He went and got his blood drawn yesterday; it appears to be clotting normally and the results looked good. Today, he had an appointment with the surgeon, who was happy with the way it was healing. Overall, great news; Bryan may just lose his nail......
What did we get out of this experience?
NEVER work under pressure. If it can wait, for safety sake, let it.
Rattlesnake bites are one of the most painful thing you can go through.
This will never happen again.
* Special thanks to all our friends and family for their loving support, thoughts, and prayers!
Bryan is back to work, and back in the field with the rattlesnakes; perhaps with a fresh perspective.......
