Snakebite victim who sucked up hospitals entire supply of anti-venom hit with staggering medical bill

A snakebite victim has been left rattled by a ssss-shocking medical bill.Chris Howarth was slapped with a $1.3 million bill after he was bitten twice by a rattlesnake — which proved to be complicated to treat — forcing medical staff to administer 54 rounds of anti-venom.Howarth was visiting family in Oroville, California from Idaho when he accidentally stepped on the snake outside on a rainy day, at first confusing the fangs for thorns in his mother’s garden.He quickly developed shortness of breath, a numb tongue, and lymph node swelling as his wife jumped into action.His wife, Jenny, rushed him to an Oroville hospital, where he would need 36 vials of antivenom before the hospital ran out.Staff then transferred Chris to Stanford Hospital via helicopter, where he would need an additional 18 vials to quell the sickness.The vials of antivenom, on top of transfusions, CT scans, blood work, and other things, led to the monstrous bill, Jenny said in a GoFundMe.

The fundraiser is asking for $12,000 to alleviate the family’s financial concerns, and it has already raised $10,000 so far.Jenny says insurance will cover some of the bill, and the $1.3 million is before insurance coverage.They stressed about the bill even as Chris received treatment, with the man bemoaning the $13,000 vials of antivenom.Each night at the Stanford hospital cost $61,000, Jenny said.Jenny said her husband is still recovering from the bite and is about “80%” right now.“He still has some soreness and swelling in his leg, which gets worse with more activity,” she told Need to Know.“The worst part for him has been the lingering fatigue.

He gets exhausted pretty easily,” she added.Chris initially felt okay after the snake bit him for the first two days before he took a turn for the worse and needed the additional antivenom.The family’s scariest moment came when Chris went into DIC, or Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation, when the body’s clotting system goes into overdrive an...