Last week when we were walking along the path at the Fort Myers Historic Cottage, there was a black snake that slithered across the ground.
As soon as I noticed the snake I jumped out of the way and a couple of people kind of laughed.
It was funny, but my fear of snakes is definitely real.
When I was 11 years old, I was bitten by a 29 inch eastern diamondback rattlesnake.
Prior to being bitten, I had a couple of close calls with snakes growing up. A couple of years prior, I was in my backyard and jumped over a pile of wood and my foot landed on the head of a water moccasin.
I jumped and was able to get away, but that was the first time I had encountered a snake that put fear in me. Then, two weeks prior to getting bit, I was walking across the street from my house to go fishing in a canal, and I noticed a large snake coiled up next to our mailbox.
I walked close and the snake did nothing.
I thought it was dead, but decided to go get my older brother.
He came outside with a shovel and took a poke at the snake.
It was an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and as soon as that shovel got close that snake struck the end of the shovel, recoiled and did it again.
We both jumped back and the snake scurried away across an open field.
Two weeks later, May 4
th 1988, I had just got home and my brother and I were going to go over to our friend Billy’s house.
My brother called me a name when we got out of the car and I proceeded to chase him through the back yard, into Billy’s yard and in between Billy’s house and his neighbor’s.
As I passed the air conditioning unit on Billy’s house, I felt a sharp pain around my ankle on my right foot.
When I looked down, there was a snake clamped onto my leg.
I screamed and tried to kick the snake off. I eventually managed to shake him loose and as I tried to get away, fell to my knees and began to crawl to the front of my friend’s home.
My brother was screaming like a little girl too, and all the commotion led Billy’s mom to come outside to see what was happening.
She immediately called 911 and tied a tourniquet just below my knee. At that point I began to pass out and really don’t remember much for the next two weeks or so. By the time the ambulance had arrived, my foot had swollen so large that they had to cut off my shoe. My step-father went to look for the snake and found it in the exact spot where it had bit me. The snake was digesting a frog when they found it.
They killed the snake and brought it to the hospital.
The doctor told my mother that the snake had injected two and a half teaspoons of venom into the muscle in my leg.
They told my mom that there was a 50% chance of survival and that if I did survive; they were going to have to cut off my leg at the knee.
Somehow, with a lot of prayers, the majority of the muscle in my leg was healing and after 5 opinions from doctors, I was able to keep my leg. I initially had three surgeries to open the wound, which was a long cut from the knee to the ankle, and then two cuts on top of the foot, to relieve pressure and allow for cleaning of the muscle.
About a week later, I had three more surgeries to close up the wound and had it stapled and stitched up.
After about 3 months of physical therapy I was able to walk and eventually able to play football, baseball, and basketball in high school. So, if I see a black snake and it makes me jump and even scream, I think I’m entitled to that.
Last week when we were walking along the path at the Fort Myers Historic Cottage, there was a black snake that slithered across the ground. As soon as I noticed the snake I jumped out of the way and a couple of people kind of laughed. It was funny, but my fear of snakes is definitely real. When I was 11 years old, I was bitten by a 29 inch eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Prior to being bitten, I had a couple of close calls with snakes growing up. A couple of years prior, I was in my backyard and jumped over a pile of wood and my foot landed on the head of a water moccasin. I jumped and was able to get away, but that was the first time I had encountered a snake that put fear in me. Then, two weeks prior to getting bit, I was walking across the street from my house to go fishing in a canal, and I noticed a large snake coiled up next to our mailbox. I walked close and the snake did nothing. I thought it was dead, but decided to go get my older brother. He came outside with a shovel and took a poke at the snake. It was an eastern diamondback rattlesnake, and as soon as that shovel got close that snake struck the end of the shovel, recoiled and did it again. We both jumped back and the snake scurried away across an open field.
Two weeks later, May 4th 1988, I had just got home and my brother and I were going to go over to our friend Billy’s house. My brother called me a name when we got out of the car and I proceeded to chase him through the back yard, into Billy’s yard and in between Billy’s house and his neighbor’s. As I passed the air conditioning unit on Billy’s house, I felt a sharp pain around my ankle on my right foot. When I looked down, there was a snake clamped onto my leg. I screamed and tried to kick the snake off. I eventually managed to shake him loose and as I tried to get away, fell to my knees and began to crawl to the front of my friend’s home. My brother was screaming like a little girl too, and all the commotion led Billy’s mom to come outside to see what was happening. She immediately called 911 and tied a tourniquet just below my knee. At that point I began to pass out and really don’t remember much for the next two weeks or so. By the time the ambulance had arrived, my foot had swollen so large that they had to cut off my shoe. My step-father went to look for the snake and found it in the exact spot where it had bit me. The snake was digesting a frog when they found it. They killed the snake and brought it to the hospital. 
The doctor told my mother that the snake had injected two and a half teaspoons of venom into the muscle in my leg. They told my mom that there was a 50% chance of survival and that if I did survive; they were going to have to cut off my leg at the knee. Somehow, with a lot of prayers, the majority of the muscle in my leg was healing and after 5 opinions from doctors, I was able to keep my leg. I initially had three surgeries to open the wound, which was a long cut from the knee to the ankle, and then two cuts on top of the foot, to relieve pressure and allow for cleaning of the muscle. About a week later, I had three more surgeries to close up the wound and had it stapled and stitched up. After about 3 months of physical therapy I was able to walk and eventually able to play football, baseball, and basketball in high school. So, if I see a black snake and it makes me jump and even scream, I think I’m entitled to that.
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