Rattlesnake |
BALDWIN PARK -- A 40 year old man is hospitalized in serious condition after being bitten by a rattlesnake at a Southland cemetery, according to officials.
Dean Maddox was visiting a gravesite at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier Thursday afternoon when he and his family noticed a snake in the grass.
Maddox tried to protect his family from the snake by scaring the creature away. But, that's when the snake bit him on the hand.
Maddox immediately began to experience symptoms of a snake bite.
His wife called 911 and he was rushed to near-by Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital.
From there, Maddox was transferred to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Baldwin Park for treatment.
Doctors say Maddox is being treated with anti-venom. His wife, Patty, says her husband is in a "fight for his life".
The couple has a son in Iraq. Doctors told her to find a way to get him home so he could be with his father.
She says she had no idea a snake bite could be so serious.
Experts say rattlesnake sightings rise dramatically in the hot weather and warn everyone to stay far away if you see one.
Dean Maddox was visiting a gravesite at Rose Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary in Whittier Thursday afternoon when he and his family noticed a snake in the grass.
Maddox tried to protect his family from the snake by scaring the creature away. But, that's when the snake bit him on the hand.
Maddox immediately began to experience symptoms of a snake bite.
His wife called 911 and he was rushed to near-by Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital.
From there, Maddox was transferred to Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Baldwin Park for treatment.
Doctors say Maddox is being treated with anti-venom. His wife, Patty, says her husband is in a "fight for his life".
The couple has a son in Iraq. Doctors told her to find a way to get him home so he could be with his father.
She says she had no idea a snake bite could be so serious.
Experts say rattlesnake sightings rise dramatically in the hot weather and warn everyone to stay far away if you see one.
