'Truly a miracle.' Arizona toddler returns home after week of treatment for rattlesnake bites
An Arizona toddler has returned home after a more than week-long hospital visit in which she was treated with 30 antivenom vials for two rattlesnake bites.
While playing in her yard on Friday, May 16, 15-month-old Cara Reed was bitten by a rattlesnake twice on her left foot, as reported by The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. But the toddler is out of Phoenix Children's Hospital and back at home.
"Cara is truly a miracle," her mother Jacquelyn Reed said in a Facebook post on Friday, May 23. "She is now alive and healing at home to try and recover some of her trauma that has temporarily changed her vibrant personality."
Jacquelyn Reed did not immediately respond when contacted by USA TODAY on May 24.
The Arizona Republic: Florence mom and nurse acted fast to save daughter bitten twice by rattlesnake
While playing in the family carport in Florence, Arizona, which is just more than 60 miles southeast of Phoenix, Reed was bit twice by a rattlesnake that appeared from under a nearby propane tank, The Arizona Republic reported. Initially, Jacquelyn took Reed to a nearby emergency room, where she was treated with 30 vials of antivenom.
As the antivenom began its work, Reed was airlifted to Phoenix Children's Hospital, where her medical team focused on correcting the toddler's plummeting oxygen levels due to the venom, The Arizona Republic reported.
In a May 21 Facebook post, Jacquelyn shared that Cara was still showing signs of weakness and because she was not able to pass a swallow test, she was given a feeding tube in her nose.
Reed remained on a breathing tube until May 19, as reported by The Arizona Republic, and a feeding tube until May 22, as shared by Jacquelyn on Facebook.
In her latest Facebook update, Jacquelyn said she and Cara's medical team are working on a physical therapy plan ahead of upcoming reconstructive surgery on Cara's foot.
"Sweet Cara still has yet to smile and has a thousand yard stare for right now," Jacquelyn shared in her May 23 Facebook post. "Matthew and I truly believe that her best chance of recovering while not much medical intervention is needed is at home with her family. She is so very loved and so very cared for."
A GoFundMe fundraiser was created shortly after Reed's hospital admittance. As of May 24, the fundraiser had raised more than $45,000.
Rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal.
According to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, between 7,000 to 8,000 people are bit by a venomous snake (including rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths and coral snakes) in the U.S. each year. Of those cases, about five are fatal.
When it comes to how a snakebite affects a child in comparison to a full-grown adult, recent research says there aren't many differences.
A 2020 study published in Journal of Medical Toxicology found that adult and pediatric patients bitten by venomous snakes had similar rates of system toxicity, severity, length of stay and late hematologic toxicity − low blood count.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Arizona toddler returns home after intensive treatment for snake bites
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