Texas mom heard toddler’s ‘hurt scream’ — then saw the venomous snake staring at her
A family was getting ready to hop inside their truck in rural Texas when a mom heard her toddler scream, KHOU reported.
“I could tell it was a hurt scream, so I turned around and picked her up and started seeing (if) something was wrong...,” Sydnee Miller said, according to KDFW.
She looked down and saw “a small drop of blood” coming from 19-month-old Wesleigh’s ankle, KDFW reported.
“I looked behind me and the snake was staring right at me,” the mother said, according to the Dallas–Fort Worth area TV station.
Wesleigh was bitten by a copperhead snake in Nemo, Texas, KXII reported, which is about 48 miles southwest of Fort Worth.
Wesleigh’s mom, who goes by Sydnee Poynter on Facebook, said her daughter was bitten by the copperhead on Monday morning.
“If y’all could take a second & say a prayer for our sweet girl we sure would appreciate it,” Sydnee wrote from the ambulance. “I want to be like this little girl when I grow up! She amazes me, & is so tough!”
Copperheads are one of 15 types of venomous snakes in Texas that are “potentially dangerous to humans,” according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.
On Tuesday morning, Sydnee wrote that Wesleigh had three rounds of anti-venom treatment and was still on morphine in an intensive care unit.
“They have to draw blood for labs every 6 hours, & that kills everyone,” the mother wrote. “She has terrible veins & I lost count after 20 sticks.”
“On the plus side she did stand up earlier on her foot in bed, & when we aren’t being held down to get blood work, she is playing with a few toys & being as much as herself as possible at this point,” Sydnee wrote on Facebook. “Hopefully being moved out of ICU this evening to a normal room.”
Wesleigh was free to leave the hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
“This little girl is such a fighter, & AMAZES everyone. Including her doctors & nurses,” a Facebook post says. “I don’t know how we got so lucky to be her parents. Wesleighs story has taken off, & I hope everyone is more aware of their surroundings especially outside.
“Wesleighs reaction to the venom hit her HARD, & fast,” Sydnee continued. “We hope no parent, child, or even adult ever has to go through what we have endured these past 3 days.”
About 0.2 percent (that’s one out of 500 people) die from venomous snakebites, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. On average, in Texas, 1 to 2 people die after they are bitten by a venomous snake each year, the department says.
Every year, “about 7,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States,” the department says.
“The number of deaths would be much higher if people did not seek medical care,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
If you are bitten by a snake, you should try to remember what the snake looked like to help with treatment, “get medical attention as soon as possible” and try to “stay calm and still,” the CDC says.