Those Crazy Katz' of Windsong Lane: Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Walk

Several minutes later, Karen was out the door in the blessedly quiet afternoon. It was beautiful. There was something about the crisp, golden, clear Autumn days that she just loved. Also, she loved her family, but quiet was a rare and treasured commodity. She would soak it up while she could. Getting some exercise was an added bonus. She stepped off the porch and walked briskly up the drive, her multi-colored scarf wrapped around her like a flag.

Windsong Lane was a long lonely road. There was a little traffic, but out here it was mostly fields and forest interspersed with a few farms. As she walked she would enter a shaded patch of forest and then come out into the golden sun again at a field. It was getting dark and a light mist was rising from the ground. She would have to turn around soon. Nearby she heard a loud hooting that sounded like “Who Cooks For You? Who cooks for you allllllll?” It was a barred owl! On silent wings, the predator swooped off a nearby perch and glided over the field. Seeing it felt like a gift. She wanted to say, “Well, I cook for me and all those other people too!” but talking to herself would probably be a sign that she was finally cracking up and it would disturb the peace of the evening. Feeling gifted and fortified, she turned around and headed home.

She was almost there when she heard shouting down the lane. Craning her neck, she could make out a riding mower and someone yelling on the side of the road in front of the Batcherly’s home. She ran over and found Mr. Batcherly on the ground holding his leg and in what seemed to be a lot of pain. “Oh my gosh, Mr. Batcherly, are you ok? What happened?” Through clenched teeth he said, “Darn snake got me. It was a copperhead, because sure as shootin I never saw it before it bit. I got off my mower to move a dead branch over here near the woods and I musta scared it. It bit me and slithered off.” He showed her two very deep looking bite marks on his ankle. The skin around the bite was starting to swell and discolor. “Ohhhhh. I can’t stand it!” He said and writhed on the ground. Karen said, “Now you keep calm Mr. Batcherly. That is the best thing you can do. My husband is an expert on these things. I want you to lie right there and be real still.” She gently removed his tennis shoe and sock in case the swelling got worse and then ran up the lane to get Mrs. Batcherly. She yelled and knocked on the door. Mrs. Batcherly came to the door with a wary look on her face, but as soon as Karen explained what had happened, she ran to call 911. Karen said, “Get an ambulance out here right away and then go out there and keep him calm! I’m gonna run home and get my husband! He has a stock of anti-venom for his work!” With that, Karen sprinted back down their driveway and down the lane to her own home. She burst into the house out of breath.

Everyone was just setting the table for dinner and were startled by her dramatic entrance. This was not something that mom did very often! “Honey! Mr. Batcherly got bitten by a snake! He thinks it was a copperhead and it really got him good. Come help! He’s on the lane in front of his house!” Johnathan handed Emma to Jack and said, “Kids, take care of things for a few mintues.” He ran upstairs and grabbed his emergency kit. Part of the preparations for a reptile survey always included a very well-stocked snake bite kit. Not only that, but Johnathan was well versed in how to administer the anti-venom. He wasn’t going to take any chances with his or his student’s lives, and you never knew when tromping around in the woods would kick up some surprises. He had had to use it on himself once. Kit in hand, he ran downstairs and out the door in a matter of minutes.

Sprinting down the lane, he found Mrs. Batcherly standing over Mr. Batcherly in a panic, phone in hand. Mr. Batcherly was on the ground, deathly pale and gritting his teeth in pain. He was starting to breath irregularly and the ankle had started to swell up alarmingly. “How… long… did you say… it was going to take… them to get here!?” he said. “The dispatcher said they were thirty minutes away, but that they were coming as fast as possible.” Mrs. Batchely said wide-eyed, clearly near hysterics and not knowing what to do. “Mr. Batcherly”, Johnathan said, “I’m Dr. Katz. I’m a reptile specialist. I need you to trust me. I’ve got a stock of anti-venom here and I know how to administer it. I need you to lie down and try to stay calm. Mrs. Batcherly, can you get him something to put his head on and a blanket? How much do you weight sir?“ Johnathan could see Mr. Batcherly was going into shock and the anti-venom needed to be administered as soon as possible. He was one of the few people in the state outside of the medical profession qualified to administer it. He found a vein and hooked Mr. Batcherly up to a bag of saline solution mixed with the anti-venom in the amount recommended for a man of his size. He then held the bag in the air so it could start a slow drip into Mr. Batcherly’s body.  It was going to be a long process, but getting it started now would head off most of the damage. Johnathan wouldn’t have done anything if Mr. Batcherly had looked calm and was breathing normally, but he was very concerned about the man’s physical state. He also didn’t know how long he had been out here on the road. Finally, anti-venom was extremely expensive. Johanthan had used research funds to buy it because it had been deemed necessary enough to have a contingency in case of emergency. Not all hospitals, especially small hospitals, would have it in stock. He didn’t know if he was going to be able to replace it, but he couldn’t very well leave this man here to die when he had the means available to help him.

Mrs. Batcherly went back to the house and came out with a pillow and blanket. She lovingly placed the blanket over her husband, who was now shaking uncontrollably, and they waited. Karen came out to wait with them. She was so thankful that Johnathan had been there to help. The Batcherly’s probably had no idea how lucky they were.

Thirty minutes later, the ambulance finally showed up. The EMT’s were astounded to find the patient already being treated, and after examining the IV and the dosages, were also astounded that Johnathan had done what they would have done. He showed them his training certification, so they knew that he really was qualified to have treated someone and that the anti-venom was genuine. They could now get Mr. Batcherly off to the hospital and get him some painkillers to make him more comfortable. They admitted that the anti-venom was not on hand and was being ordered from a supplier. It wouldn’t arrive at the hospital until the next day. Johnathan gave them another vial just in case they needed it before the other stuff arrived.

After checking all of his vitals and the wound, the EMT’s loaded Mr. Batcherly onto a stretcher and into the ambulance for the long ride to the hospital. Being out in the country had its drawbacks. Mrs. Batcherly got in back with her husband, and Karen promised to close things up at their house and bring some items to the hospital the next morning. They might be there at the hospital for a while. The doors closed and the ambulance drove away, lights flashing silently.

That night, after the kids had gotten a shortened version of the story and were put to bed, Johnathan and Karen finally got to talk. Snuggling in bed together, Karen said, “John, it makes me so scared that something like that could happen to you or to one of the kids some day. I’ve always known those snakes were out there and that it was something to watch out for, but for some reason now it’s more real. It makes me not want to let anyone go out in the forest or fields. Ellie’s out there all the time. I couldn’t bare to loose any one of you crazy people.” “Well,” said Johnathan, “Here’s the real deal… and I know I’ve told you this, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded. Most of the time the snake leaves and you never even see it. Even if you do see it, it will do it’s best to hide or flee. If it can’t to either, it might just threaten you. If you back away even then, it’ll likely make an escape. If it feels it needs to bite, most snakebites either miss, fail to penetrate, or might penetrate your skin but fail to inject venom. In cases where there was venom injection, you likely have time to go check yourself into a hospital for treatment. Mr. Batcherly just had terrible luck and had a terrible reaction on top of it all. It was a direct and unusually deep bite. Most dangerous bites are on the arms and the reason is that the person that got bit deserved it… egging the snake on… usually some young dumb guy. I would hope that nobody in this house meets that description.”

Karen was silent for a minute. “You’re right, of course. Thank you, but I think we will all be a little more cautious for a while. I guess it’s getting colder. Hopefully we won’t have to worry about snakes until you start work again. That one must have been by the road sunning itself. It’s a bit chilly out.” Johnathan agreed. “You know, you were a hero today.” Karen said. “Maybe,” he said, “But wouldn’t you have done the same thing if you could? There are so many things that could have happened. I just hope he will be alright.” “Yes” Karen said, and they held each other extra tightly that night, at least until Emma woke up yet again in the wee hours of the morning. Karen couldn’t wait until that child started sleeping through the night.