A Colorado man is recovering after being bitten three times by a rattlesnake during a family outing, an incident that required 18 vials of antivenom. Michael Padilla was en route back to Windsor after celebrating his grandson’s 13th birthday in Estes Park when the attack occurred.
Padilla described the initial impact as feeling like being punched with a thorn. He said he began to feel disoriented and "fuzzy" within minutes of the encounter near a river. "Next thing I know, I got hit from the back — boom, like somebody punched me with a thorn," he recounted.
He managed to return to his car, but his condition worsened during the drive. "We were probably driving for five minutes, and the next thing I know, I’m starting to feel really weird. I’m getting fuzzy," Padilla said. His wife, Amy, noticed multiple puncture wounds on his calf, realizing he had been bitten more than once.
At the hospital, Padilla received 18 vials of antivenom to treat the venomous bites. Amy Padilla expressed relief that her husband sought medical attention promptly, stating, "If I had tried to keep driving, this would have been an entirely different story."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 7,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes, including rattlesnakes, in the U.S. annually. However, fatalities from such bites are rare, with only about five to six deaths per year. Experts advise those bitten to remain calm, call 911, avoid attempting to remove venom, and seek immediate hospital treatment, ideally within 30 minutes. It is also noted that approximately one-third of rattlesnake bites are "dry," meaning the snake injects little to no venom.