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Man Bitten By Rattlesnake, Airlifted To Hospital
September 7, 2010
A 28-year old man bitten by a rattlesnake Monday evening was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital.
John Derrek Giddins suffered the bite on his ankle while in the backyard of his home on South Highway 99 between Walnut Hill and Bay Springs near the railroad crossing. Giddins told authorities that the rattlesnake was in a flower pot that he had stepped over. The snake was not captured.
The incident occurred about 6:40 p.m. Within minutes, the Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue was on scene, along with Atmore Ambulance. Giddiens was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola by a LifeFlight helicopter that landed his front yard. Giddins remained hospitalized early Wednesday morning.
Pictured above: A man apparently bitten by a rattlesnake Monday evening was airlifted to Sacred Heart Hospital. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Comments
72 Responses to “Man Bitten By Rattlesnake, Airlifted To Hospital”
I was the one bitten, and I just got home today. The pain is still unbareable, but I am going to be ok. It was a just a freak accident, and yes the snake never rattled. I have lived here all my life, and I still learned a lot about the treatment of snake bites. Everything that we have been told to in the aftermath is wrong, we need to get the knowledge out there so that it might save someones life!
taken a bad turn….they are having to start the anti venom treatment over again…
John Derrek is out of the critical care unit and in a private room, he’s going to be just fine. Thank God!!
glad to hear john derricks getting better! thanks everyone for the updates. keep them comin please!
Here in Alabama we have has numerous pets bitten by rattlesnakes this year. The heat brings them out, they are coldblooded, and are very active. King snakes would be a very good investment!!! Hoping you are getting well
If you are a friend of John Derrick’s and wanna go see him he is suppose to be getting moved out of ccu soon….keep up all the prayers for they seem to be working!
I just spoke with John Derrek’s grandmother. She says that the swelling is subsiding. The doctors initially thought that he would need surgery on his foot, however, that is no longer the case. It has been a rough go for him, but it appears that he will pull through this. Thank the Lord!
REGARDING:
“My uncle Ron talks about himself in the third person too. I think you two could have some interesting conversations”
Really, when you can talk to yourself like we do, who needs others?
David wondering
and surprised he isn’t out already
WOW, this post has about as many hits as a homewrecker on fairground
Jake, you just don’t appreciate good music
JOHN, I HOPE YOU ARE DOING BETTER. THAT IS JUST HORRIBLE !!!! WILL KEEP U IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS !
Jake the Snake!! Are you THE Jake the Snake from Molino? My mom used to talk about someone called that. You’re a legend!! LoL sort of. And yes, DHG won for sure, if it had been a competition.
I never said it was a bad thing…I’m sure he’s a nice fellar, just odd, but ain’t we all. <3
@JohnMolino
The first saw the snake in my yard a couple of summers ago. That was when we were having a long dry spell, I had been out in the backyard earlier in the day watering some plants and the snake was approaching the wet foliage. I have seen the snake once more since then, and a new neighbor saw it on the fence back this past spring. When I was doing some research online trying to identify the snake the day that I first saw it, I noted that they are available for sale online. Before that, I thought all king snakes were banded.
Keep John in your prayers. He’s doing better, but not out of the woods yet. Keep in mind, he was injected with a very large amount of Eastern “Alabama” Diamondback Rattlesnake venom and has has be given very large amounts of antivenom. He’s swollen to the point that the skin is splitting and in intense pain. Also, side-efects can include paralysis or blindness, though temporary, even onset months down the road. This could be a long ordeao for him. Let this be a wake-up to all of us. Venomous animals are an important part of the local ecosystem, but they cannot safely co-exist with humans, so we must be very careful. After all, they were here before we were, as far as modern society goes, at least!
i hope he has a full recovery! scary!
Hope this guy recovers from his bite. And by the way folks, if you think DHG is bad on here, at least you didn’t have him as a substitute teacher and bus driver growing up.
Jake the Snake
Remembering having to turn up the volume on his Walkman over DHG’s singing on the school bus
TO DENI:
Thinking that DHG
has WON!!!!!!!! HA!
I surely hope the man recovers, I am terrified to death of snake. I really don’t want them around me whether they are dead or alive!!!
David your comments are so funny. My uncle Ron talks about himself in the third person too. I think you two could have some interesting conversations. When he is released I’m going to have him read some of your posts.
david huey green . . . i love your comments. I have finally got my mother hooked on reading northescambia.com and I ALWAYS ask her if she seen your comment at the end of different articles.
DHG, love the endings on your thoughts – please don’t change a thing! As for killing snakes, I go out of my way to avoid them on the road, I was thrilled when a rat snake took up in a storage building in my yard but will not hesitate to kill a rattlesnake if it enters the fenced yard with our dogs. Killed a 5 1/2 foot rattler in back yard several years ago. Even though we have dogs considerably bigger than shitzus or toy poodles
, I”m not taking any chances! Someone mentioned coral snakes. I can never remember the right arrangement of colors in the little rhyme to tell if it’s a coral or a scarlet kingsnake. I learned if it has a red nose, it’s a kingsnake. Forget all that black on yellow, red on black – whatever! OK, now you all can laugh, but like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, a red nosed coral looking snake is harmless – and that’s how I remember it! I’ve picked up non-poisonous snakes and relocated them from my front porch. Believe all creatures serve a purpose (yes, even those that taste like chicken!) – but I don’t want poisonous ones up close and personal to my dogs! Heard about this incident on the news several times but they’d never say WHERE in north Escambia county. Knew if I came here I could find out! Hope this young fellow is OK.
REGARDING:
” It is odd”
and therefore apt
David thinking people should be
for things not just against them
David Huie Green – - – you crack me up. You are also correct, as usual. Long live the king …………. snake!. : )
I am curious to know, is it mating season here or are they coming out of the woods as the temperature has cooled down???? I know if there has been a lot of clearing done it moves them out. I would like to have a King or Black Indigo as they get rid of the poisonous snakes.
David Huie Green KEEP it up, don’t let one bad apple spoil it.
Darn snakes- they are either hiding in flower pots or a Escambia County worker. Either way they must be put down.
DHG….i hope that you continue w/your writing style in your posts…i find it quite humerous, usually
I love rattlesnakes, they taste like chicken!
I am terrified of snakes. My husband just killed a very small one (about 4 inches) on our carporch the other day. It must have been a baby rattler or a pigmy. Also, a man was driving by the other day and ran over one coming onto our property. Then he got out and shot it about 3 x’s. Thanks to whoever that was! Feel free to do that anytime!
I am keeping this man in my prayers!
God bless the fella that got bit!! I’ve wondered all day how he’s doing….thanks to the people who are giving updates!!
Deni for wishing David Huie Green
wouldn’t put what he “is for” at the
end of EVERY single comment he
makes. It is odd!
Man ppl sure do like 2 talk!! I hope ur ok buddy!! Miss ya and I will see u soon!!
I pray that he is alright. My husband killed a timber rattler in our backyard the other night, 15 rattles and a button. It was huge. It had been in the neighbors yard and they came to us telling that it had entered our yard. If it would not had been for the warning, who knows what would have happened. We have four children and we are all the time walking in the back yard. I can only imagine how scared him and his family are. And I would have to say, I will kill one way before I let it kill my children. My children are the highest on my list of importance.
@anydaynow
You have a Apalachicola Kingsnake on your property? Very cool. I’d love to see it. Did you put it there or did you just notice it naturally? This is big news for amateur herpetologists like myself. I’m still getting to know all the variations of eastern snakes having spent most of my field time in the Western USA. Curious to know how an Apalachicola Kingsnake got all the way up here to NW Fla..Last week I found a large Fat Tailed African Gecko on my wall under the floodlights.Must have been an escaped mating pair that were pets,no doubt.
I can understand peoples anxiety over snakes,I really can…While I’m not fearful of them, I still respect them and I’m not about to advise people to let venomous snakes crawl around their property. They are dangerous and can kill animals,livestock and humans. What’s important here is education and knowing the difference between venomous and non venomous species. Non venomous snakes keep us safe from much more dangerous animals and illnesses. Hanta Virus and Bubonic plague being just two of the dangerous viruses that rodents carry and spread into our living spaces. These viruses kill many thousands of people compared to the relatively small amount of snakebite victims. We NEED snakes to kill rodents.
While I don’t wish to get into semantics…No Snake is Poisonous.There are some species that are venomous. Most snakebites are ‘Dry Bites’.Meaning the majority of snakebites (from the relatively small amount of venomous snakes), are non life threatening as the animal did not envenomate during the bite.
Here is a great website and online guide for those of you concerned about our local snakes here in Florida:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-guide/onlineguide.htm
The only good snake is a dead snake. I’m not going to try and figure out if it’s a good snake or bad snake.. Too much time, the snake will have spit it’s venom inside me and I’ll be dead. People don’t go fishing in the woods like they used to. I believe that’s why we see so many snakes now. Because back in the day a woman would kill a snake faster than a man. Me, I’m just scary. I do hope the guy get’s better.
Fortunately for the good snakes in Big Al’s front yard he rarely leaves the comfort of his easy chair……
Big Chief fears the human snake in the grass far more than the reptile type.
Exactly. If you kill a king snake which would have killed and eaten a rattlesnake, you may increase the chances of getting bit by a rattler. After all, a predator is always looking for a meal and we aren’t usually looking for rattlers.
Nor am I pretending people should ignore dangerous snakes. It is true that the most common cause of snake bite is that someone was trying to kill the snake that bit them when it wouldn’t have had they left it alone but that is neither near nor there. I figure more people have died from diseases carried by rats than have ever even been sickened by all snakes put together.
David for well fed king snakes
and rat snakes
Peacocks will kill and eat rattlesnakes, guinea fowl will kill them but won’t eat them. King snakes, all varieties, will also kill and eat rattlesnakes. I have an Apalachicola king snake in my yard (at least I do if my neighbor hasn’t killed it), so I don’t worry much about the snakes anymore. When I first saw the snake I thought it was a rattlesnake because it had a diamond pattern on it’s back, but it had a head like a garter snake and was long and lean at about 3 feet long. It has a row of thumb print sized ruby spots along it’s sides and also a row of thumb print sized yellow spots. The snake never coiled even though I nearly stepped on the thing.
Predator snakes…feed them!
A note to NRF. The most venomous Snake in the US is the rare Coral Snake. The second is the Pigmy (ground) Rattler. The copperhead is third and the large Rattlers share fourth with the cottonmouths. I’d be very careful with them little fellars.
Regarding “Clear Interpretations”:
Yes of course the serpent, satan, is crushed by Jesus, in fulfillment of this text, regarding the curse of sin which is broken through redemption. Additionally, we are given authority in Christ for both practical safety from harmful threats and spiritual victory over evil. “Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like lightning. I have given you the authority to trample snakes and scorpions and to destroy the enemy’s power. Nothing will hurt you.” Paul indeed demonstrated this truth by killing the viper which bit him, slinging it into the fire, while also suffering no effects from its venom. We have the right and authority to exercise the dominion God has given us to protect ourselves and others from harmful and dangerous threats, both physical and spiritual.
I hope and Pray that young man will be ok. All of the ones that don’t think you should not kill a snake are nutty as a fruitcake. If I see one he is going to be a dead one if I can get my hands on something to kill it with.
REGARDING:
” “And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head ”
The Bible also makes it clear it was talking about Satan, not snakes and the offspring was Jesus who would overcome Satan.
David for clear interpretations
and letting rat snakes eat rats
I have a really easy way of telling a “Good” snake from a “Bad snake”. If it is ALIVE, it is a BAD snake. If it is “DEAD”, it is a “GOOD” snake. Don’t bother trying to confuse me with the facts, My mind is made up. Peace Out.
Oh, sorry he stepped over a flowerpot and the Alabama Diamondback rattlesnake was inside the flowerpot and bit him on the ankle with no warning as he stepped over. Yes, that could have been a small child!
*FEELINGS!!!!
Sorry for the typo but I think you get what Im trying to say.
Democrat,
I think we need to go find this rattle snake and bring it to you so you can sit down with it and discuss with it how he hurt the humans feelings by biting him. Maybe you can reason with him and let him know that it is not nice to bite humans. Maybe you can appeal to its softer side and make it be nice!!!!
FELEINGS!!!!!!
What a load of CRAP!!!!!
KILL IT!!!!!!!!!
I praise God for every DEAD rattlesnake I see or hear about!
“And I will put enmity
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring [a] and hers;
he will crush [b] your head,
and you will strike his heel.”
While God gave the ability to snakes to “strike”, God also ordained that man should “crush” its head!
He’s alive, but it looks like he may lose his foot. Oh, by the way, he was just standing outside on the phone when the snake bit him, so make your own opinions on snakes!
This young man is our neighbor and we hope and pray he will be ok. At our house and property a poisonous snake is killed whenever possible. The others we leave alone. A human life and even the life of a pet is worth a lot more than a dangerous snake, Just my opinion.
Be careful about running over snakes too. If the rattler strikes at the tire and gets a fang stuck in the tread or in the tire it holds venom. If you are someone checking a tire for some reason rubs your hand across the fang, you could be bit and not even be around a snake. I really don’t know if it’s true and I’ve never heard of it happening but it’s something I’ve been told all my life…
Thank goodness we have medical heicopters available. I hope this young man recovers.
Believe me we have more then enough out here so it doesnt matter if u kill a dozen it still want hurt a thing i have already killed 4 one right in my drive, if i had been walking i would have been like this guy “get well soon” because it didn’t have any rattlers yet and it was 4ft.so go hug a tree.
Best wishes for a quick and complete recovery
I can’t believe that people would even consider a snake more valuable than a human life. This man is my neighbor and life long friend, there is no snake on this planet worth a human life!!
I seen the lifeFight come over my house around 7:15, I was wondering what had happened! I hope everything turns out good for this man! Great Job William!
Don’t be silly Snakes do not have feelings!! That snake did not feel proud or bad for biting that man! I don’t kill snakes unless it pose a treat to me or my family. We let women kill unwanted babies,but get upset if some one kills a snake!!!
“Rattle Snakes…Feelings”…..give me a break!
Kill them all. I will kill every poisonous snake I come in contact with. If it’s not posionous…I will leave it alone.
Hope you get well soon…….We are praying for you and wish you the best and hope to see you out very soon! love ya!
Hope you get well soon ……..We are all Praying for you and wish you tha best and love you!!!!!!!!!!
Kill ‘em all.
All snakes are soooo crucial to our fragile environment. This is a living, breathing being that has feelings, and this should be taken into consideration before harming such a precious animal. They will only harm you if they feel as if you are threatening their environment. So if you see one, just calmly walk away and feel empowered that you were able to come so close to such a marvelous creature!
Our lab was bitten by a snake in our back yard yesterday. She was in so much pain. Thankfully she is better today. Snake of any kind in or around my home will be ran over if I am in a car, and killed in any way possible. By myself and my husband as well.
Please keep us updated on this man. We sure hope he will be okay! I have a BIG fear of snakes! (Most people do) In my book, a snake is a dead snake as long as I can get my husband to kill it or I will run over it 50 times if it is on the road!
We’ve killed 2 copper heads in our yard this year. If they are in my yard and they are poisonous I kill them. Non-poisonous, leave them alone…they eat other undesirable critters.
save the snake?? my daughter was about 4 when a big rattle snake under my truck almost got her while she went around it on her little toy tractor, thank GOD he didnt.My wifes cat was not so lucky a year later when he died after his bite from a ratte snake.He died and i spent $300. 00 at the vet trying to save him. To save a snake that can kill a person is crazy. But thats just me. iam gona kill everyone i see. NO animal is above human life.
I must agree with Chris and add that they serve a purpose. They would not be here if that were not true. I’ve had rattlers in my yard and “on” my porch this year. My dog was recently bitten in the face “survived”. It is a “good” year for their numbers but I don’t like them under my feet either. They are not “evil” as they’ve been portrayed. There are folks around that will catch and relocate any reptile. I did in my younger days and hope to again in my retirement years. Let’s watch our step outdoors.
He is still in ICU as of this morning…hoping for the best!
It is just an old tale that they will rattle before they strike!!!! i had a deer hound that was bitten three times before the snake ever made a sound yes we killed the snake. My uncle was bush hogging on sunday and run over one that was probably six feet long and had a head that measured three inches across. i don’t believe in killing all of them my brother and i catch them and try to relocate them if they are not causeing any problems. we have on that is about three feet long right now in a cage that we will turn loose this weekend in the woods off of pineville road to where he is not close to a home for him to come in contact with humans hopefully.if we killed all of them we seen they would eventually become extinct or put on the endangered species list then you would get in trouble for killing them and possibly se4rve jail time for killing a snake.
Most folks don’t realize small poisonous snakes pose a bigger problem when they bite. Being smaller they don’t know how to regulate their venom as larger sankes do. So, when a smaller snake bites you you will get most of the venom the snake has.
Yes, poisonous snakes do have their place livng in nature. I just have not found that place yet.
I dont kill a rattler unless they pose a threat to my family. Its the only snake that will give you a warning that its there.
I don’t understand those who feel the need to kill snakes, a natural part of our ecosystem. Leave them alone and they will go away or relocate.them or find someone that will relocate them. Killing wildlife is not the answer.
Has been a bad year for snakes. I don’t remember ever seeing so many around before. We killed a pigmy rattlesnake in our yard yesterday (2nd one this year). Know it’s not the same as a regular rattlesnake, but still unnerving. Hope this gentleman will be okay.
I kill those snakes… don’t understand those who do not.
Hope he recovers swiftly.