Friday, July 19, 2013

Update on mom (with pictures)

I went to see mom after dad came home. She was feeling well enough to eat dinner and her hand had stopped swelling enough that she could use her fingers. She seemed herself again and was in good spirits. The ICU people are keeping her overnight for "just in case" situations.

Here are some pictures I took with my iPhone. Sorry about the quality.



This is her left little finger, where she was bitten. The little red dot there is the wound. 



This is her hand. The blue lines are there to mark the progress of the swelling. 
At its worst, her hand was 21 centimeters around. 


Going down her arm....


... to pretty close to 2/3rds the way to her elbow. 


Here is the little bastard. Emphasis on little. 

Mom was very lucky:  A small snake, with only one fang strike, on a part of the body without deep tissue or major blood vessels. And even so, her hand and arm swelled like a sausage and is blue-black from the hemotoxin that killed the blood cells (so everything looks bruised). If this had been a bigger bite, her allergy to the antivenom could have had tragic consequences. 

Still, mom is a a tough old lady. 

12 comments:

  1. That's good news. Glad things seem to be 'in hand'.

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  2. Your mom is officially a badass.

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  3. I'll tell her you said that. She'll get a kick out of it. :)

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  4. One tough lady glad to hear she is feeling better.

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  5. Glad to hear she's getting better!

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  6. Glad she's on the mend, looks like nothing some elbow grease can't fix.

    Have you thought about what will be done with the snake? There's always taxidermy? Make a little monument to her badassnes?

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  7. Per her instructions, I cut off the rattle (for a trophy) and pitched the rest into the woods for the scavengers to eat.

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  8. Like mother, like daughter. What a relief that she's doing better!

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  9. Ouch. hope she recovers OK. Hemotoxins can be nasty long term; I'd almost prefer a neurotoxic bite. Thankfully I've never been bitten, a few brushes years ago, in Louisiana, was enough for me. Back home all we have to worry about is bumblebees.
    My best wishes to your mother, I hope she recovers fully and quickly.

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  10. Good to hear that she's doing better.

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