Kamloops resident Georgia McLachlan compares her arms and hands after a rattlesnake bite caused the right one to puff up to the armpit.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Georgia McLachlan

What began as a typical Saturday out doing yard work last week turned into a chilling medical emergency for a Kamloops resident when she was bitten by a venomous snake.

It was early afternoon on June 12 when Georgia McLachlan went to mow her lawn on her property on Ord Road in Kamloops’ Brocklehurst neighbourhood. When she reached down to check the height setting on the mower, a rattlesnake lunged out.

“I didn’t get a warning rattle and he shot out like a spark,” she said. “He bit my finger and was stuck to it. I was shocked. I flicked it off and punched it several times in the head.”

McLachlan picked the now comatose snake up and ran into the house where her son was.

“I was trying to stay calm and told my son to grab the keys and find a bag for the snake,” she said. “I phoned the hospital ahead of time to give them a heads up. Minutes after the bite it was really painful, it’s like 100 times worse than a hornet’s bite.

“I felt tinging in my mouth, tongue and throat. I puffed up all the way to the armpit.”

McLachlan’s son drove her to the hospital where she was given a bed in the emergency ward right away and hooked up to intravenous anti-venom treatment. 

Her son came into the emergency with the snake in the bag.

“One nurse asked where the snake was and my son said ‘I have it right here’, and everybody stood back,” McLachlan said. “The doctor started to laugh and then Conservation came in and took the snake away to relocate it. I’m not in trouble for hitting it, I told the officer it bit me first.”

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Rattlesnake spotted on hike in Kamloops grassland

Following treatment, McLachlan was on a 72-hour watch for adverse affects to the anti-venom. When she returned home she was greeted by neighbours who brought her cards, flowers and home cooked meals.

McLachlan has lived in Kamloops for more than five decades and has come across numerous rattlesnakes over the years. She lives in a manufactured home park close to an area known for its rattlesnake dens.

“I’ve had them sunning in the backyard but once they sense you coming, they toddle off,” she said. “Most of them are docile, they don’t want to confront you. The doctor at RIH figures it had finished sunning itself and found shade under the mower.”

A retired paramedic, she never had to respond to a snake bite during her career, but knows what to do in the event it happens.

“Sucking out the venom is just what they do in the movies,” she said. “You keep the bitten area as low possible, below your heart, and don’t panic or it will bring the venom into the body faster. If you have access to ice put it on right away to slow the venom from moving into the bloodstream.”

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Western rattlesnakes are common in the BC Interior and are the only venomous snake in the province, however they are typically docile and don’t bite unless they’re threatened, according to WildSafe BC. Normally fewer than five people a year are bitten by rattlesnakes in BC and the bites are rarely fatal if treated right away. Most snake bites are due to people deliberately trying to handle or harm them.

McLachlan said staff at Royal Inland Hospital told her bites were rare and she was the first one they have treated this year.

She's expected to make a full recovery but is still feeling nauseous from the anti-venom treatment. The swelling in her arm has gone down and she is regaining function of the hand that was bitten, although the bitten finger is still numb.

“I’ll be kicking the lawn mower before using it from now on,” she said.

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