{"id":474,"date":"2024-11-07T14:33:20","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T14:33:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/?p=474"},"modified":"2024-11-07T14:33:23","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T14:33:23","slug":"family-charged-nearly-300k-for-life-saving-cure-after-rattlesnake-bit-2-year-old-i-thought-he-was-going-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/archives\/474","title":{"rendered":"Family charged nearly $300K for life-saving cure after rattlesnake bit 2-year-old: \u2018I thought he was going to die\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='\"mg-header\"'>\n<article class='\"page-content-single' small single>\n<div class='\"my-article\"'>\n<figure>A California family was left rattled when they were charged nearly $300,000 in medical bills after a rattlesnake sank its venomous fangs into their 2-year-old son\u2019s right hand \u2013 requiring nearly three dozen vials of antivenom to save his life.\n\n<article class='\"my-article\"'>The life-saving cure accounted for $213,278 of the $297,461 total payment, which also included two ambulance rides, an emergency room visit, and days spent in pediatric intensive care,\u00a0according to KFF Health News.\u201cI thought he was going to die. We all thought he was going to die,\u201d the boy\u2019s mother, Lindsay Pfeffer,\u00a0told CBS8\u00a0in May.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710591.jpg?w=982%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710591.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"The' young boy named brigland was bitten by a venomous rattlesnake. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>The young boy, named Brigland, was bitten by a venomous rattlesnake.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710598.jpg?w=775%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710598.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"The' snake bite was on his right hand between thumb and index finger. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>The snake bite was on his right hand between his thumb and index finger.\n</p><p>\u201cWhen they started to put pads on to shock him and I saw his blood pressure going down and they took the labs and I knew it wasn\u2019t good and his whole arm was black \u2013 I don\u2019t want his last memory to be of me screaming.\u201d\n</p><p>Pfeffer was just a few feet away from her son, Brigland, when a Southern Pacific Rattlesnake bit the boy\u2019s right hand between his thumb and index finger as he was playing in the family\u2019s San Diego backyard in May.\n</p><p>As the poison quickly spread through her son\u2019s 25-pound body, Pfeffer called 911 and waited for an ambulance to take them to Palomar Medical Center Escondido 25 minutes away \u2013 the closest medical facility that carried antivenom, the outlets reported.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710741.jpg?w=819%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710741.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"The' poison moved quickly through the boy body leaving his arm bruised. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>The poison moved quickly through the 25-pound boy\u2019s body, leaving his arm bruised.\n</p><p>\u201cHe was laying down on the sidewalk out front; just flat and sweating and he wasn\u2019t moving,\u201d Pffefer told CBS8.\n</p><p>The snake poison, constricting the boy\u2019s veins, caused swelling and bruising in his fingers up to his shoulder, resulting in the ER team using a handheld drill to thrust a needle with the antidote into the boy\u2019s bone marrow when they were unable to administer the medicine through an IV, KFF Health News reported.\n</p><p>The toddler was transferred to Ray Children\u2019s Hospital \u2013 an hour away \u2013 once he was stable and remained in intensive care for several days until he recovered.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710743.jpg?w=819%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710743.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"His' arm and fingers turned purple black. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>His arm and fingers turned purple and black.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710749.jpg?w=932%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710749.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"The' toddler received more than vials of antivenom. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>The toddler received more than 30 vials of antivenom.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710744.jpg?w=819%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710744.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"He' spent several days in intensive care recovering. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>He spent several days in intensive care recovering.\n</p><p>While the boy received 30 vials of Anavip between the two hospitals, the medical bills showed each facility charged its own hefty price for the medicine, the outlet reported.\n</p><p>The first hospital administered 10 vials of Anavip, charging $9,574 per vial, totaling $95,574, with the second hospital, the largest children\u2019s hospital on the West Coast, charging $5,875 for each of the 20 vials administered, totaling $117,532.\n</p><p>The family maxed out their health insurance plan\u2019s out-of-pocket maximum to cover the costs, ultimately paying $7,200 for the hospital visits, the outlet reported, but they now owe an additional $11,300 for one of the ambulance transports.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710742.jpg?w=819%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710742.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"His' mother lindsay pfeffer said her son is very lucky to be alive. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>His mother, Lindsay Pfeffer, said her son is very lucky to be alive.\n<figure><img decoding='\"async\"' src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/nypost.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/sites%5C/2%5C/2024%5C/10%5C/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710745.jpg?w=934%5C%22" sizes='\"(max-width:' srcset='\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/10\/300k-life-saving-antivenom-mom-92710745.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all' https: alt='\"The' youngster is recovering though still suffering nerve damage in his right hand. width='\"100%\"' height='\"auto\"' align='\"center\"'>\n<p>The youngster is recovering though is still suffering nerve damage in his right hand.<br>\nDespite the costly life-saving treatment, the boy\u2019s hand has since healed, though nerve damage and scar tissue have left his right thumb much weaker, the outlet reported.\n</p><p>The family also installed snake fencing around their yard.\n</p><p>\u201cHe\u2019s very, very lucky,\u201d Pfeffer said.\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>A California family was left rattled when they were charged nearly $300,000 in medical bills after a rattlesnake sank its venomous fangs into their 2-year-old son\u2019s right hand \u2013 requiring nearly three dozen vials of antivenom to save his life. The life-saving cure accounted for $213,278 of the $297,461 total payment, which also included two [&hellip;]\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/momentsunfolded.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></p></figure></article></figure></div></article></div>