A 47-year-old man from Fayette County, Pennsylvania, USA is currently in intensive care in Ruby Memorial Hospital in West Virginia after he crossed paths with an aggrieved rattlesnake whilst hiking in the picturesque Dunbar Mountains last Sunday with his wife and two teenage children.
The man, who is a resident of Perryopolis in Pennsylvania, was bitten on the hand as he bent over to pick up the walking stick he had just dropped in the undergrowth, according to the chief of Fayette County Emergency Medical Services, Rick Adobato. He was able to hike for another hour to return to his car with his family, who drove until they obtained a phone signal and dialled 911 at around 2.30pm.
The family then drove another mile to the county fairgrounds to meet an ambulance, by which point the injured man was beginning to lose consciousness.
About the incident, Abodato said, "Much longer and this guy probably wouldn't have made it. You got to add to the walking, you've been bitten. Your pulse rate goes up. The venom is circulating through your body even faster at that point.”
The ill-fated hiker, named Richard Lawson, is said to now be in a stable condition.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources have advised that, while timber rattle snakebites are certainly rare, it is always wise for hikers to take precautions in the form of high-topped leather walking boots and an eagle eye for snakes before sitting down or reaching to the ground around brushes, logs, or rocks. All of these simple measures are ones that may save your life.
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