SerpApi.Org
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (KTLA) – The lives of a California family were turned upside down after their 3-year-old daughter was bitten by a rattlesnake just steps from their front door.
Manuel Barajas said his wife told their daughter, Addy, that an Amazon package had arrived and been dropped over the gate into the yard. Knowing it was a gift for her, the little girl ran outside to retrieve it, never seeing the Southern Pacific rattlesnake hiding beneath the padded brown envelope.
Addy was bitten on her left hand as she picked up the package.
Barajas said his wife rushed Addy to the parking lot of a local grocery store, where they met an ambulance that transported her to a hospital.
She received her first dose of antivenom there but later had to be transferred to a second hospital with a pediatric intensive care unit. Addy spent two days in the ICU while receiving two additional doses of antivenom.
The incident comes amid an increase in rattlesnake bites across Southern California, with three fatalities and nearly 250 bites reported as of early July. According to experts, one reason for the surge is a March heat wave across much of California that increased rattlesnake activity.
Most recently, an Ohio man visiting family in California barely survived a rattlesnake bite despite receiving 54 doses of antivenom and spending 12 days in intensive care. As of July, he was still recovering from complications related to the near-fatal encounter.
Barajas told Nexstar’s KTLA he is sharing his family’s frightening experience to raise awareness about the dangers posed by rattlesnakes in Southern California and the importance of knowing which hospitals are best equipped to treat children in emergencies.
He also said he’s grateful his daughter is recovering.
“She’s doing great now. She’s, I want to say, about 70% recovered,” Barajas said. “She’s still bruised on her left hand where she was bitten. Her spirits are high, her demeanor is great, but she keeps asking why she was bitten by a snake.”
A GoFundMe campaign has been organized to help the family cover Addy’s extensive medical expenses and offset the financial strain caused by missed workdays as their daughter continues to recover.
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