ROCKDALE COUNTY, Ga. — A 6-year-old metro Atlanta girl is recovering after a venomous snake bit her.
Brooklyn Bell was out on a walk with her family and their new puppy in her Conyers neighborhood when a Copperhead bit her on the foot.
Brooklyn and her mother, Sonia Bell, walked Channel 2's Tom Regan through what happened.
"I stepped on the snake and it bit me!" Brooklyn said.
As Bell rushed her daughter to the hospital, the wound quickly got worse.
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"She had two fang marks, like puncture wounds and blood was trickling down," Sonia Bell said. "Her foot had swollen up and it was turning blue. It got above her ankle."
Doctors at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Egleston closely monitored the swelling and how far the venom was traveling up her leg, debating on whether to use anti-venom drugs, which can have side effects in children.
"The physicians did a really good job of tracker her vitals and weighing the risks versus the benefits of giving her the anti-venom," Bell said.
Doctors ultimately decided against using anti-venom.
Copperhead venom is not as dangerous as venom from a rattlesnake.
If you get bitten, it's best to limit body movement to slow the spread of the venom, according to Thomas Floyd, a wildlife biologist with the Department of Natural Resources.
"Just get to the hospital, as soon as possible, but also remain calm," Floyd said.
Brooklyn has fully recovered and her mom said she's proud of her. Brooklyn said the bit didn't even hurt that bad.
"She was a real trooper, Tom," Bell said.
“They gave me two shots, and I didn’t cry,” Brooklyn said.
Cox Media Group
