"Puff Adder Invenomation"

I received the following in an e-mail, who victim is, who took the photos, I do not know and have posted the story as an interest for members. Sleep well and happy safaris in Africa.

"The camp director had previously called the hospital and a helicopter was waiting at the trail head. During the 30 minute helicopter ride I was going in and out of consciousness, having trouble keeping my eyes open.

We arrived at the Mafikeng hospital, where the doctor in the emergency room decided that my case was too severe to treat at that medical centre. He told me this, which was the last thing
I heard before going unconscious.

Although I was unconscious for approximately the next 24 hours, I have heard about the following events from my parents.

I was taken from the Mafikeng hospital to Ferncrest Hospital in Rustenburg the trauma centre for North West Province . My snake bite was determined to be too severe for Mafikeng Hospital to deal with. At the Ferncrest Hospital I underwent a fasciotomy, which involved the doctors cutting open my arm from the palm up to about the middle of my biceps. This was to relieve the extreme pressure that had built up in my arm from the puff adder venom, making my arm as hard as a rock until the fasciotomy.

I spent the next 35 days in the Ferncrest Hospital , had eight surgeries performed for cleaning out the dead tissue from my arm, and finally had a skin graft from my leg to close up my arm, which had remained open for 30 days after the fasciotomy until the skin graft surgery. That is 10 surgeries in total at Ferncrest Hospital.

I was released from the hospital on August 24, had four months of intense physical therapy, and flew to Bloemfontein University Medical Centre in Freestate for a follow-up surgery. This was a vascular flap surgery, during which they took a chunk of skin and muscle from my back, attached its blood vessels to the ones in my arm using microsurgery, and then stitched it to my arm. Although 2 emergency surgeries were required within 24 hours on account of blood loss, the vascular flap was a success, and after six more months of physical therapy, my hand had a significant improvement in mobility from when I left University of Freestate Medical Hospital and could move each finger only 2-3 millimetres.

My hand now has fully mobility and is about 80% as strong as it was before, thanks to my Dad and I resuming our rock climbing after a one year break due to the lack of strength in my left hand. I use it for about 90% of the things I used to do with my left hand (I am right handed). 13 surgeries, R3700000 worth of helicopter flights, surgeries, and hospital stays (paid by my insurance), and 20 months later, I am very happy with the outcome of this experience and my good fortune of getting through all this without any significant loss."












"This is the reason you never want to be bitten by a puff adder."

F__k Snakes!

I usually have a "live and let live" policy, but I killed the most recent snake I came across in Cameroon(due to the snake breaking certain rules)

I don't want to give anything away, but the adder is not the only snake that induces the pucker response.

In the situation I was in a snakebite would have been real bad.

I hate snakes!!

When out in the field whether in South Texas or Southern Africa there is no such thing as a funny snake prank!!!

Actually the only thing in Africa I am truly terrified by. I believe the Bible when it is said of the serpent that he will forever try to bite man on the heel and man will forever try to bruise the serpents head.I take that passage literally and it does not EXEMPT ANY serpent as being without blame and does not also allow a person to make any kind of judgement. I follow it explicitly and if Isee a snake I make every effort to kill it. Period,end of sentance.

I wish folks would start publishing photos of hippo fatalities, Cape buff goring, elephant stompings and all of the animals that cause most of the injuries/fatalities in addition to venomous snakes in Africa. Let's keep it in perspective, I've been around many of the most dangerous snakes in the U.S. and one in South Africa. They are dangerous animals that have a niche in the life scheme and deserve respect but not unreasonable fear. The vast majority of injuries happen when folks try to pick them up with their hands or fooling with them in some way (like in my profile photo).

I would like to know what lead up to the snake bite?

Mike

I came within inches of stepping on a Puff Adder, just seeing these pics puts a knot in my stomach. It is good to see an excellent recovery was made.

quote:

Originally posted by Upton O. Good:
I wish folks would start publishing photos of hippo fatalities, Cape buff goring, elephant stompings and all of the animals that cause most of the injuries/fatalities in addition to venomous snakes in Africa. Let's keep it in perspective, I've been around many of the most dangerous snakes in the U.S. and one in South Africa. They are dangerous animals that have a niche in the life scheme and deserve respect but not unreasonable fear. The vast majority of injuries happen when folks try to pick them up with their hands or fooling with them in some way (like in my profile photo).

Thank you for speaking with the voice of reason...especially after the unbelievable post just before yours.

That looks rough for sure. I had a rattle snake bite in the past and it did nothing of the sort.

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
I would like to know what lead up to the snake bite?

Mike

Given that the "victim" speaks of rock climbing. I would offer a guess of putting his hand on a ledge he had not checked for snakes.
Not a nice situation at all.

JWM -- I 'm glad you find my post unbelievable. Probably the dumbest statement I have ever read. Unless you know me personally, and i doubt you do,You have absolutely NO idea what I believe and if you find the Bible unbelievable Then I certainly understand where you are coming from. I wish I could say I will pray for you but I probably would not even remember your name.

I have seen three puff adders, in all cases sunning themselves on a dirt path or road. Their camoflage is excellent. I could see how it oould be easy to step on one. In one case my PH killed one by braining it with a rock.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Unless you know me personally, and i doubt you do,You have absolutely NO idea what I believe and if you find the Bible unbelievable

He, and the rest of us, have a pretty good idea about what you believe regarding snakes based on your post.

Personally, I would find the bible more believable if it had mentioned the new world. Kinda odd that it didn't, isn't it? It's almost like it was written by people who lived in caves, and not by all-knowing prophets. Really strange when you think about it(if you choose to think about it).

But we all have the right to hold our beliefs.

JBrown - Sorry you don't choose to believe. That's the great thing about Christ he gives YOU the choice. YOU also get to suffer the consequences. Incidentally what exactly is the 'new world' the Bible doesn't reference? Just curious. Also I don't understand the reference to money in your post. Profits are the difference between cost and sale more or less but if you were referring to someone who predicts things to come you might be referencing 'prophets'. But then that might explain your lack of understanding of the Bible. And you too have the right to hold to YOUR beliefs whatever they might be.

I guess you could attribute my misspelling of prophets as Freudian slip brought on by my feelings regarding religion in general.

As far as the new world, according to Merriam-Webster:

quote:

New World noun, Definition of NEW WORLD: western hemisphere; especially : the continental landmass of North and South America.

Stop and think about this, the people writing the bible thought that the world was flat. There is not one single reference to the Americas. In light of that, how can anyone take the bible as fact?

But I don't mean to argue with your beliefs.

As far as getting to "suffer the consequences" for not believing, I would hope that God is not quite that petty. I mean seriously, how can anyone believe that God doesn't care how you conduct yourself, but that he only cares that you believe in him.

I'm sorry for arguing with you on this as I don't mean to devalue your beliefs.

JBrown - I feel sorry for one with your beliefs and hope that you will sometime in the future reconsider. Not for my sake but for yours but then since you don't believe the Bible you don't feel that the only way to GOD is thru belief in Christ. So sad. As to devaluing my beliefs you compliment yourself needlessly as you have neither the power or the intellect to do that.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
As to devaluing my beliefs

Sorry, I should have said that I don't pretend to know who holds the correct beliefs.

Using the bible to justify killing things with no provocation.....sad and misguided.

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
Actually the only thing in Africa I am truly terrified by. I believe the Bible when it is said of the serpent that he will forever try to bite man on the heel and man will forever try to bruise the serpents head.I take that passage literally and it does not EXEMPT ANY serpent as being without blame and does not also allow a person to make any kind of judgement. I follow it explicitly and if Isee a snake I make every effort to kill it. Period,end of sentance.

Man that's pretty "hard core"

Those of you who know John Sharp, ask him about his very similar experience, only he flew himself down to South Africa! He did wind up losing half a finger though. Tough guy. jorge

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
JWM -- I 'm glad you find my post unbelievable. Probably the dumbest statement I have ever read. Unless you know me personally, and i doubt you do,You have absolutely NO idea what I believe and if you find the Bible unbelievable Then I certainly understand where you are coming from. I wish I could say I will pray for you but I probably would not even remember your name.

Thanks so much for your concern regarding my soul...very Christian of you. So an expression of disbelief that someone might question your fanaticism is the "dumbest" statement you have ever read? Do you not proofread your own posts?

You are correct in one thing. I don't know you, and don't pretend to fully understand your beliefs. Your earlier post was not ambiguous and clearly stated that you killed all snakes on sight, and that your interpretation of the bible was that these animals are somehow guilty and deserving of such treatment...there was no room for any kind of judgment call, case closed. Fine...believe what you want. I can at least partially understand someone with a fear of snakes, or perhaps with some history of misfortune with them, who would behave this way. However, blindly interpreting some religious mythology in such a literal and destructive way is bound to raise some eyebrows among people who pride themselves on having a realistic understanding of conservation and the natural order of things. To borrow a well-known quote, I kill in order to have hunted. I am not driven by some archaic dogma that has been repetetively driven into my skull, to the exclusion of rational thought.

Have a nice life...enjoy the crusade!

John

quote:

Originally posted by jwm:

quote:

Originally posted by zimbabwe:
JWM -- I 'm glad you find my post unbelievable. Probably the dumbest statement I have ever read. Unless you know me personally, and i doubt you do,You have absolutely NO idea what I believe and if you find the Bible unbelievable Then I certainly understand where you are coming from. I wish I could say I will pray for you but I probably would not even remember your name.

Thanks so much for your concern regarding my soul...very Christian of you. So an expression of disbelief that someone might question your fanaticism is the "dumbest" statement you have ever read? Do you not proofread your own posts?

You are correct in one thing. I don't know you, and don't pretend to fully understand your beliefs. Your earlier post was not ambiguous and clearly stated that you killed all snakes on sight, and that your interpretation of the bible was that these animals are somehow guilty and deserving of such treatment...there was no room for any kind of judgment call, case closed. Fine...believe what you want. I can at least partially understand someone with a fear of snakes, or perhaps with some history of misfortune with them, who would behave this way. However, blindly interpreting some religious mythology in such a literal and destructive way is bound to raise some eyebrows among people who pride themselves on having a realistic understanding of conservation and the natural order of things. To borrow a well-known quote, I kill in order to have hunted. I am not driven by some archaic dogma that has been repetetively driven into my skull, to the exclusion of rational thought.

Have a nice life...enjoy the crusade!

John

Well said.

From Puff Adders to quotes from the Bible!
Let's get to the point and obtain an answer to Retreever's unanswered question !

BTW, I have seen two people take direct bites from Rattlesnakes.
My girlfriend's dad in high school got bit in the hand.. He was picking tomatoes in their garden and got tagged in the thumb and web. They had to perform the fasciotomy just like these pics to alleviate the pressure. It took him months to recover and he never did regain 100% use and feeling.

My uncle got tagged in the shin. It was in 1999 and the whole family was dove hunting on the opener and he walked past a pickly pear patch to pick up a dove. He took one step too close to retrieve the fallen dove and BAM.. He said the pain was like pouring gas on his leg and lighting it.. and letting it burn for hours. His leg swelled HUGE and turned black and blue but no fasciotomy was required on this one.
We got him to the hospital in plenty of time and he was able to fully recover.

I live and let live with ALL snakes. I find them fasinating.

I have never understood the childlike hysterical fear of snakes displayed by some.

Of course I understand all the cultural antecedants of snake-fear and don't begrudge a 'healthy fear' of snakes at all but lets face it, some of this is beyond any reasonable rationale. Sure, deadly venemous snakes can be dangerous in rare circumstances but ultimately they are much smaller than us, slow moving for the most part (I now await the myths about snake speed from the uniformed) and REALLY stupid. They cannot stalk, outsmart, seek revenge or plan anything.

Driving an icy highway at night is more dangerous than being in the bush where venemous snakes live...

Lastly, I often hear 'my PH said that mambas get 30ft and can raise themsleves 10feet off the ground, slither at 30kmh and kill you in 2 seconds yada yada'. Fact remains while many ph's are immensely knowledgeable quite a few I've met on ranches in SA could do with a course in small vertebrate, bird and plant ecology.

I find the desire to kill every snakes some see on a safari to be reprehensible and tantamount to poaching.

quote:

Originally posted by kayaker:
I have never understood the childlike hysterical fear of snakes displayed by some.

If you ever run across an aggressive Black Mamba in your travels, please record the encounter on your phone cam and we'll judge your behavior I know I would probably scream like a little girl...

quote:

Originally posted by jorge:


If you ever run across an aggressive Black Mamba in your travels, please record the encounter on your phone cam and we'll judge your behavior I know I would probably scream like a little girl...

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I guess you could attribute my misspelling of prophets as Freudian slip brought on by my feelings regarding religion in general.

As far as the new world, according to Merriam-Webster:

quote:

New World noun, Definition of NEW WORLD: western hemisphere; especially : the continental landmass of North and South America.

Stop and think about this, the people writing the bible thought that the world was flat. There is not one single reference to the Americas. In light of that, how can anyone take the bible as fact?

But I don't mean to argue with your beliefs.

As far as getting to "suffer the consequences" for not believing, I would hope that God is not quite that petty. I mean seriously, how can anyone believe that God doesn't care how you conduct yourself, but that he only cares that you believe in him.

I'm sorry for arguing with you on this as I don't mean to devalue your beliefs.

Actually according to the Bible you will be able to stand at the Judgement and be judge on your acts. You will fail which is why the only way to pass is through Jesus Christ

quote:

Originally posted by pacecars:
Actually according to the Bible you will be able to stand at the Judgement and be judge on your acts. You will fail which is why the only way to pass is through Jesus Christ

Please explain: will everyone fail, including those who follow Christ(but they will be allowed in anyway)? Or will only those who follow Christ pass and the non-believers will fail regardless of their acts?

It just seems to me that God would not be so petty as to care if you believe in him or not. I would think that your acts would be of more concern to him....

When you start talking about a man who only cares that you worship him, and is not concerned with your actions Donald Trump comes to mind.

God is not a man. Those that do not know Jesus Christ will be judged by their acts. They will not pass because no man is without sin. It is only through the Grace of God through Jesus Christ that you may enter the Kingdom of Heaven. I am not a theologian but that is my understanding of the Bible.

The puff adder thread is most appropriate here. Instead of hijacking this thread, how about taking all other comments to "Walter's Own General Discussions".

quote:

Originally posted by kayaker:
I have never understood the childlike hysterical fear of snakes displayed by some.

Of course I understand all the cultural antecedants of snake-fear and don't begrudge a 'healthy fear' of snakes at all but lets face it, some of this is beyond any reasonable rationale. Sure, deadly venemous snakes can be dangerous in rare circumstances but ultimately they are much smaller than us, slow moving for the most part (I now await the myths about snake speed from the uniformed) and REALLY stupid. They cannot stalk, outsmart, seek revenge or plan anything.

Driving an icy highway at night is more dangerous than being in the bush where venemous snakes live...

Lastly, I often hear 'my PH said that mambas get 30ft and can raise themsleves 10feet off the ground, slither at 30kmh and kill you in 2 seconds yada yada'. Fact remains while many ph's are immensely knowledgeable quite a few I've met on ranches in SA could do with a course in small vertebrate, bird and plant ecology.

I find the desire to kill every snakes some see on a safari to be reprehensible and tantamount to poaching.

+1 - In many countries it's also technically illegal.

I can understand killing snakes if they come into the house or camp but to kill them in the bush, is in my eyes at least, sheer bloody ignorance of the worst kind.

The bush is after all their natural environment and not ours.... in other words, we're the trespassers, not them....... so why kill them?

I find it interesting that snakes are accepted into the Mutual Admiration Society but not Christ !

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

Stop and think about this, the people writing the bible thought that the world was flat.

That statement interests me as I have never heard it before. Do you have references to back it up?

quote:

+1 - In many countries it's also technically illegal.

I can understand killing snakes if they come into the house or camp but to kill them in the bush, is in my eyes at least, sheer bloody ignorance of the worst kind.

The bush is after all their natural environment and not ours.... in other words, we're the trespassers, not them....... so why kill them?

I agree, leave them be. It is also a fact that more than half of all snake bites occur when people try to kill them. So proceed at your own risk.

Goodness bloody gracious, Who would have thought that a thread on the effects of a puff adder strike would have seen so many "hissy-fits " thrown?

quote:

Originally posted by Howard:

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:

Stop and think about this, the people writing the bible thought that the world was flat.

That statement interests me as I have never heard it before do you have any references to back it up?

Howard
I am just going on the fact that the bible doesn't reference the new world.

While my experience with snakes in the wild is limited I have never felt the need to kill one simply for the sake of killing it.

In South Africa I saw a snake crawl across the road and told the PH to stop the car. He said "what for?" and kept going. I told him to stop because I wanted to see what kind of snake it was. He stopped but wanted no part of it so he stayed in the vehicle. The tracker was happy to help me find it (cautiously) and I got a nice photo. The snake posed no threat to us and no reason to kill it.

In Namibia the PH told me that he had seen some snake tracks right around the rondavel I was sharing with my wife. Later that day he found and killed a cobra. I had no problem with that as I didn't want my wife to be bitten.

Different circumstances and I believe the response was correct in both cases.

So Zimbabwe what do you make of this?

And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (Mark 16:17-18)

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. (Luke 10:19)

I believe that it comes from the same book you cited.

I think you will find Jesus was speaking to the annointed 70 who were given special powers . I am happy that you like reptiles,serpents or however you refer to them. I don't and was speaking of my fear of them and my belief that they have no real redeeming value.The fact that they have a place in Nature is a bunch BS in as much as everything has a 'place' in nature. The belief that they in any way control rodents or some such has yet to be proven to me. So I see absolutely no redeeming value they have to mankind and will continue to treat them with contempt and punish them at every opportunity.