TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) – The wife and son of University of Alabama assistant basketball coach Antoine Pettway have been bitten by a snake. Now Kimberly Pettway is sharing the experience to warn others.
Luckily, they both got to the hospital in time and recovered very well.
“My son and I were bitten before we even set eyes on the snake,” Kimberly Pettway said.
She had a nightmare with her ten-year-old son, Kingston.
Pettway says as they were walking a friend to the car, she noticed her son had no shoes on and made a comment about it.
While driving into the garage of their Tuscaloosa home, the incident happened.
“As you can imagine, both cars, in the garage,” Pettway said. “We walk in between and he walks in front of me. As soon as he turns left, he says “ouch” and raises his right leg. I thought he was about to trip, so I grabbed him and said, “Are you okay? I couldn’t even get out and felt something on my foot.
Pettway says it was like a shock went through his body.
“The top of his foot, you could see the two teeth and it looks like he jumped a bit,” she said. “It wasn’t as sharp as mine. Mine was clean. Two spikes on the side of my foot, clear as day.
She said the snake was easily identifiable. He could be described as a manual copperhead.
Right away, the family jumped into the car and headed to the emergency room. Pettway said her husband, Antoine, drives them.
Kimberly Pettway said she didn’t know what to expect.
“If someone has that type of experience, which I hope not, they have to understand that they have time,” Pettway said. “We learned at the hospital that you have a window of about six hours.”
She recalls doctors measuring where they had both been bitten to see if the swelling was moving up their bodies.
She also learned that before they could treat her son, they had to call the poison control center.
“The swelling was big enough that we had to start the anti-venom, and then they started mine,” Pettway said.
Now she hopes to prepare more just in case.
“Remember to be patient when you go to the hospital because it’s a process there,” she added. “It’s a process out there to treat you in the best possible way.”
Pettway doesn’t want people to live in fear, just to be aware of the risks and what could happen. She says the more prepared you are, the better.
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