thedrifter
10-10-03, 08:53 PM
Toddler picture of health one year after rattler attack
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031010194241
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(October 9, 2003) -- Call it a scientific breakthrough or simply a miracle of modern medicine - nonetheless, baby Makayla J. Shepherd beat the odds and fully recovered from last year's horrifying rattlesnake bites that disfigured her face and left her clinging to life.
One year later, Makayla is a healthy, vibrant 2-year-old. She walks and talks in typical toddler fashion - a marked difference from a year ago, when she lay intubated at San Diego Children's Hospital after a baby rattler attacked her in her back yard in the Wire Mountain I Housing Area.
Moreover, her fresh face shows no signs of the bite doctors originally thought might necessitate plastic surgery.
Seeing her now, some might find it hard to believe the horror her family faced a year ago.
"I felt totally helpless because there wasn't anything we as parents could do," explained Victoria Shepherd, Makayla's mother. "We had to let the doctors to their job."
Victoria was folding clothes when Makayla was playing in her plastic playhouse on her back porch. Inside the house lurked the rattlesnake, which struck and bit Makayla on her face.
Unlike adult rattlers, babies often inject all their venom - making them especially dangerous, according to snake experts.
Almost immediately, Makayla's eyes swelled shut. Her upper lip turned purple as blood rushed to the wound. She stopped breathing twice.
"Her face was temporarily disfigured and she seemed unable to recognize anyone," Victoria said.
Makayla was rushed by ambulance to the South Mesa Club, with paramedics consulting Naval Hospital doctors via radio, before being lifeflighted to Children's Hospital. There, doctors rushed to save Makayla as the snake's venom coursed through her veins. Her parents were told doctors wanted to try a new antivenin, an agent to reverse the snake venom's properties.
"They wanted to try a new antivenin, but they didn't know it would work, so obviously neither did we," explained Cpl. Michael O. Shepherd, a mechanic with Maintenance Company, 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group.
The drug doctors prescribed was Antivenin Polyvalent Crotalid (Ovine) Fab. It's a drug drawn from immunized sheep's blood. Doctors couldn't wait to make decisions and decided to begin administering the drug immediately.
"He started with nine vials (doses), but later injected a total of 14," Michael Shepherd said.
"We were told she had a 50-50 chance of living," Victoria added.
Doctors eventually put Makayla into a drug-induced coma to keep her from pulling out her own intravenous tubes. For seven days, the Shepherds waited for signs of life from Makayla.
Finally, she opened her eyes. The sign was encouraging, but doctors were still worried because Makayla couldn't recognize her own parents.
A day made the difference though. On the eighth day, Makayla walked the hospital corridors with her mother.
"The antivenin injections worked great, and my baby was on Tylenol for a few days after," Victoria explained.
More than a year later, the Shepherds are still counting their blessings. Plastic surgery wasn't needed; her features returned as the swelling went down. Her smile now beams as brightly as it did before the bite.
"I feel very blessed, and like I've said over and over - it's a miracle," Victoria said. "When we brought Makayla home, we expected years of plastic surgery, but we had a miracle."
Makayla was released after nine days at the hospital in San Diego and returned to Camp Pendleton. But even after Makayla's return, the Shepherds found more snakes near their Wire Mountain I home. They later moved to a new house in Stuart Mesa Housing Area.
"Makayla feels free here," Victoria said. "I've brought home toy snakes and she isn't afraid of them. She has no clue what happened to her."
Rob Lovich, a wildlife biologist and herpetologist here, says there's not much base wildlife officials can do to prevent snakes from venturing into people's yards. He said the housing area abuts endangered species habitat that officials are bound by federal law not to disrupt. Besides, "We're not in the business of going out and removing species from the base," he said.
Base game wardens will respond to calls to remove snakes from housing areas and relocate them elsewhere on base. Better yet, Lovich said, residents shouldn't keep boards or other debris lying around the yard - anything that might attract rodents or other snake prey, or provide snakes a perch from which to ambush prey.
Lovich, who has known colleagues who've been killed or maimed by venomous snakes, said Makayla's recovery speaks volumes not only about advancements in treating snakesbites, but also about the "resiliency of youth."
It also says something about the level of care she received, he said. Doctors at Children's Hospital who treated Makayla couldn't be reached for an interview, but Lovich said they obviously did great work.
"The fact she's functioning perfectly - the same she was the day before she was bitten - is a testament (to the proficiency) of the doctors," Lovich said. "It shows that everybody reacted in the right manner and that she got the care that she needed."
E-mail Sgt. Guillen at: GuillenJ@pendleton .usmc.mil
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003101019482/$file/snakegirl%20low.jpg
Above, Makayla J. Shepard, one year after being bitten by a rattlesnake at Wire Mountain I Housing Area.
Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/9D62622F645BC39985256DBB00824039?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine:
Submitted by: MCB Camp Pendleton
Story Identification Number: 20031010194241
Story by Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.(October 9, 2003) -- Call it a scientific breakthrough or simply a miracle of modern medicine - nonetheless, baby Makayla J. Shepherd beat the odds and fully recovered from last year's horrifying rattlesnake bites that disfigured her face and left her clinging to life.
One year later, Makayla is a healthy, vibrant 2-year-old. She walks and talks in typical toddler fashion - a marked difference from a year ago, when she lay intubated at San Diego Children's Hospital after a baby rattler attacked her in her back yard in the Wire Mountain I Housing Area.
Moreover, her fresh face shows no signs of the bite doctors originally thought might necessitate plastic surgery.
Seeing her now, some might find it hard to believe the horror her family faced a year ago.
"I felt totally helpless because there wasn't anything we as parents could do," explained Victoria Shepherd, Makayla's mother. "We had to let the doctors to their job."
Victoria was folding clothes when Makayla was playing in her plastic playhouse on her back porch. Inside the house lurked the rattlesnake, which struck and bit Makayla on her face.
Unlike adult rattlers, babies often inject all their venom - making them especially dangerous, according to snake experts.
Almost immediately, Makayla's eyes swelled shut. Her upper lip turned purple as blood rushed to the wound. She stopped breathing twice.
"Her face was temporarily disfigured and she seemed unable to recognize anyone," Victoria said.
Makayla was rushed by ambulance to the South Mesa Club, with paramedics consulting Naval Hospital doctors via radio, before being lifeflighted to Children's Hospital. There, doctors rushed to save Makayla as the snake's venom coursed through her veins. Her parents were told doctors wanted to try a new antivenin, an agent to reverse the snake venom's properties.
"They wanted to try a new antivenin, but they didn't know it would work, so obviously neither did we," explained Cpl. Michael O. Shepherd, a mechanic with Maintenance Company, 1st Transportation Support Battalion, 1st Force Service Support Group.
The drug doctors prescribed was Antivenin Polyvalent Crotalid (Ovine) Fab. It's a drug drawn from immunized sheep's blood. Doctors couldn't wait to make decisions and decided to begin administering the drug immediately.
"He started with nine vials (doses), but later injected a total of 14," Michael Shepherd said.
"We were told she had a 50-50 chance of living," Victoria added.
Doctors eventually put Makayla into a drug-induced coma to keep her from pulling out her own intravenous tubes. For seven days, the Shepherds waited for signs of life from Makayla.
Finally, she opened her eyes. The sign was encouraging, but doctors were still worried because Makayla couldn't recognize her own parents.
A day made the difference though. On the eighth day, Makayla walked the hospital corridors with her mother.
"The antivenin injections worked great, and my baby was on Tylenol for a few days after," Victoria explained.
More than a year later, the Shepherds are still counting their blessings. Plastic surgery wasn't needed; her features returned as the swelling went down. Her smile now beams as brightly as it did before the bite.
"I feel very blessed, and like I've said over and over - it's a miracle," Victoria said. "When we brought Makayla home, we expected years of plastic surgery, but we had a miracle."
Makayla was released after nine days at the hospital in San Diego and returned to Camp Pendleton. But even after Makayla's return, the Shepherds found more snakes near their Wire Mountain I home. They later moved to a new house in Stuart Mesa Housing Area.
"Makayla feels free here," Victoria said. "I've brought home toy snakes and she isn't afraid of them. She has no clue what happened to her."
Rob Lovich, a wildlife biologist and herpetologist here, says there's not much base wildlife officials can do to prevent snakes from venturing into people's yards. He said the housing area abuts endangered species habitat that officials are bound by federal law not to disrupt. Besides, "We're not in the business of going out and removing species from the base," he said.
Base game wardens will respond to calls to remove snakes from housing areas and relocate them elsewhere on base. Better yet, Lovich said, residents shouldn't keep boards or other debris lying around the yard - anything that might attract rodents or other snake prey, or provide snakes a perch from which to ambush prey.
Lovich, who has known colleagues who've been killed or maimed by venomous snakes, said Makayla's recovery speaks volumes not only about advancements in treating snakesbites, but also about the "resiliency of youth."
It also says something about the level of care she received, he said. Doctors at Children's Hospital who treated Makayla couldn't be reached for an interview, but Lovich said they obviously did great work.
"The fact she's functioning perfectly - the same she was the day before she was bitten - is a testament (to the proficiency) of the doctors," Lovich said. "It shows that everybody reacted in the right manner and that she got the care that she needed."
E-mail Sgt. Guillen at: GuillenJ@pendleton .usmc.mil
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2003101019482/$file/snakegirl%20low.jpg
Above, Makayla J. Shepard, one year after being bitten by a rattlesnake at Wire Mountain I Housing Area.
Photo by: Sgt. Jose E. Guillen
http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/9D62622F645BC39985256DBB00824039?opendocument
Sempers,
Roger
:marine: